Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com
Women's Hockey Celebrates 2018-19 Season at Annual Team Banquet
4/22/2019 12:59:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
HAMDEN, Conn. — The Quinnipiac women's hockey team celebrated the 2018-19 season at its annual banquet in the University Club at the People's United Center on Friday, April 19. Five seniors were honored and recognized for their contribution and success in the program over the past four years. Five team awards were presented and the ECAC Commissioner, Steve Hagwell, presented the Mandi Schwartz Student Athlete of the Year Award and the Sarah Devens Award to senior Kenzie Lancaster.
Hagwell traveled to Hamden to present Lancaster with two of the most prestigious awards in women's hockey. The Mandi Schwartz Student Athlete of the Year Award is presented on behalf of ECAC Hockey, and the Sarah Devens Award is presented on behalf of both ECAC Hockey and Hockey East. Lancaster was named the recipient of both awards back in March.
Seniors Anna Kilponen, Kenzie Lancaster, Kate MacKenzie, Randi Marcon and Melissa Samoskevich hold an overall record of 79-48-20 through their four years as Bobcats. All five graduating seniors took the time to share their favorite memories, stories and experiences and recognize how the program has impacted their lives on and off the ice.
Head coach Cass Turner, assistant coaches Eddie Ardito and Amanda Mazzotta and director of hockey operations Paul Nemetz-Carlson thanked the five seniors for their leadership and dedication to helping the program excel in all aspects.
The coaching staff also presented the four team awards and one newly added fan award. The Rookie of the Year, Best Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player are awards voted on by the players; the Coaches' Award recipient was decided by the coaching staff.
Lexie Adzija earned Rookie of the Year Honors. Her seven goals and 11 assists ranked fourth on the team and led the freshmen class. She was an integral part of the Bobcats' offense throughout the season and became one of the top centers in the conference.
"We quickly realized that Lexie does not lose faceoffs," Ardito remarked. "We can always count on Lexie to bring competitiveness and energy every day at practice, whether that is scoring a big goal or winning puck races. We are excited to see what the next three years will bring."
Abbie Ives was named the Best Defensive Player of Year. In the net, she played in 33 out of 36 games this season, earning a 12-15-6 record with a .924 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average.
"She is true student of the game," said Mazzotta. "This award is a culmination of three years of growth and development for Abbie. She has learned to value every shot against, in every moment, in every game. When I think about the best goalies out there that truly make a difference in their team's success, it's the goalies that make the difficult saves look routine. Abbie does that for us on a daily basis."
Melissa Samoskevich won the Most Valuable Player Award for the second year in a row. She was second on the team in points with 23, led the team with 13 goals and was second on the team with 10 assists. Samoskevich finished her career with 109 points with 54 goals, both ranking third all-time in the program's history.
"She has always shown a willingness to give more," Nemetz-Carlson said about the senior captain. "She embraced the love for detail and information that she didn't have before she came to Quinnipiac. It has been an amazing development to see how much better she has gotten, but it's also a success story."
Randi Marcon earned the Coaches' Award for her achievements on and off the ice as a leader for the team. She tripled the number of goals she had this season compared to her freshman year. Nine of the 12 goals she scored this season came in the second half of the season, including an eight-game point streak to end her career. Her nine second-half goals accounted for 21% percent of the teams' total goals in the second half of the season.
A new award was added to the program and was presented by Rob Stowell. The Friends of Quinnipiac Women's Hockey Fan Favorite award was voted on by fans in the Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Facebook group. Junior Kati Tabin received the award.
The program ended with a special video to celebrate the season through laughter, joy, highlights and memories.
Hagwell traveled to Hamden to present Lancaster with two of the most prestigious awards in women's hockey. The Mandi Schwartz Student Athlete of the Year Award is presented on behalf of ECAC Hockey, and the Sarah Devens Award is presented on behalf of both ECAC Hockey and Hockey East. Lancaster was named the recipient of both awards back in March.
Seniors Anna Kilponen, Kenzie Lancaster, Kate MacKenzie, Randi Marcon and Melissa Samoskevich hold an overall record of 79-48-20 through their four years as Bobcats. All five graduating seniors took the time to share their favorite memories, stories and experiences and recognize how the program has impacted their lives on and off the ice.
Head coach Cass Turner, assistant coaches Eddie Ardito and Amanda Mazzotta and director of hockey operations Paul Nemetz-Carlson thanked the five seniors for their leadership and dedication to helping the program excel in all aspects.
The coaching staff also presented the four team awards and one newly added fan award. The Rookie of the Year, Best Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player are awards voted on by the players; the Coaches' Award recipient was decided by the coaching staff.
Lexie Adzija earned Rookie of the Year Honors. Her seven goals and 11 assists ranked fourth on the team and led the freshmen class. She was an integral part of the Bobcats' offense throughout the season and became one of the top centers in the conference.
"We quickly realized that Lexie does not lose faceoffs," Ardito remarked. "We can always count on Lexie to bring competitiveness and energy every day at practice, whether that is scoring a big goal or winning puck races. We are excited to see what the next three years will bring."
Abbie Ives was named the Best Defensive Player of Year. In the net, she played in 33 out of 36 games this season, earning a 12-15-6 record with a .924 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average.
"She is true student of the game," said Mazzotta. "This award is a culmination of three years of growth and development for Abbie. She has learned to value every shot against, in every moment, in every game. When I think about the best goalies out there that truly make a difference in their team's success, it's the goalies that make the difficult saves look routine. Abbie does that for us on a daily basis."
Melissa Samoskevich won the Most Valuable Player Award for the second year in a row. She was second on the team in points with 23, led the team with 13 goals and was second on the team with 10 assists. Samoskevich finished her career with 109 points with 54 goals, both ranking third all-time in the program's history.
"She has always shown a willingness to give more," Nemetz-Carlson said about the senior captain. "She embraced the love for detail and information that she didn't have before she came to Quinnipiac. It has been an amazing development to see how much better she has gotten, but it's also a success story."
Randi Marcon earned the Coaches' Award for her achievements on and off the ice as a leader for the team. She tripled the number of goals she had this season compared to her freshman year. Nine of the 12 goals she scored this season came in the second half of the season, including an eight-game point streak to end her career. Her nine second-half goals accounted for 21% percent of the teams' total goals in the second half of the season.
A new award was added to the program and was presented by Rob Stowell. The Friends of Quinnipiac Women's Hockey Fan Favorite award was voted on by fans in the Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Facebook group. Junior Kati Tabin received the award.
The program ended with a special video to celebrate the season through laughter, joy, highlights and memories.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Goaltender
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Defense
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Forward
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Defense
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Forward
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Forward
/ Women's Ice Hockey
Defense
/ Women's Ice HockeySaturday, September 23
Wednesday, June 03
Wednesday, June 03
Wednesday, June 03
