Nation’s best named at CIS awards gala

Men’s hockey wraps up with the first-ever McGill Redmen championship team

K. Bryannah James
The Brunswickan (University of New Brunswick)

FREDERICTON (CUP) — On March 21, the six top qualifying CIS men’s hockey teams arrived at the Fredericton Playhouse to attend the CIS All-Canadian Awards Gala. During the evening, the awards were given to the top players in individual categories, each a reflection of their dedication to not only their talents and drive as an athlete, but their motivation and dedication as a student and a person.

These players were not only awarded with trophies for their academic and athletic achievements, they were also given a special treat in the form of guest speaker Doug MacLean.

MacLean has many accomplishments and highlights on his hockey resumé. A few of his accomplishments in the hockey industry include being a former University of New Brunswick Varsity Red head coach, general manager and coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, assistant coach to the Washington Capitals, head coach to the Florida Panthers, and assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues.

Many now know him for his work with Sportsnet as a sportscaster on Hockey Central.

During the evening, he told many anecdotes and stories about his time as a coach and as a father, but most of all, as a hockey lover.

After his speech, the awards were presented.

The first award of the night was the Clare Drake Trophy for rookie of the year, which was award to the Western Mustangs' Zach Harnden.

The nominees for this award also included the Calgary Dinos' Teigan Zahn and StFx’s Michael Kirkpatrick.

The R.W Pugh most sportsmenlike player of the year award was given to captain Kyle Ross of the Saskatchewan Huskies. Ross was nominated alongside Chris Ray of Waterloo and Dean Ouellet from the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus.

The award for top goaltender of the 2011–12 season was presented to Reál Cyr from the University of Alberta Golden Bears. Riley Whitlock of Queen’s and Anthony Peters from Saskatchewan were finalists for this award, while top defencemen of the year was given to Marc-André Dorion from the McGill Redmen.

The Father George Kehoe Memorial Trophy, also known as the coach of the year, was given to CIS rookie coach Serge Bourgeois from the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus. Clark Singer from the Western Mustangs and UBC Thunderbird coach Milan Dragicevic were also nominated.

The Randy Gregg Award for volunteer work and academic and athletic excellence was awarded to captain of the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds Kyle Bailey. Jonathon Lawrence of Queen’s and Kyle Ross from the Huskies were both selections for this award.

The final award of the night was the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy for player of the year, which went to a hockey player who doesn’t play for any of the top qualifying six teams: Acadia Axemen Andrew Clark. His competitors included Keaton Turkewicz from the Western Mustangs and Blair Macaulay from the Manitoba Bisons.

CIS hockey action wrapped up this weekend, with the Redmen taking the University Cup for the first time in McGill’s men’s hockey history.