The College Hockey America regular season award winners were announced Wednesday night during the league’s annual CHA Tournament Championship Weekend Kick-Off Banquet. The banquet was held at the impressive Hyatt Hotel which provided a remarkable venue. The All-Rookie and All-Conference teams were announced, as were all individual awards for the regular season.
There were five major individual awards announced this evening, each determined by the six CHA coaches, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Best Defenseman, and Best Defensive Forward.
Taking home Player of the Year honors for the 2016-17 season was red shirt junior, Brittany Howard from Robert Morris. Howard led the conference with 48 points on 18 goals and 30 assists. Howard also led the CHA in scoring in conference play, scoring seven goals while assisting on 18. This was her third full season eclipsing the 40-point mark, setting a new personal best of 48 points. The redshirt junior had four multi-goal games, including one hat trick. Howard also put up 15 multi-point games which was tied for the most in the CHA.
Securing Rookie of the Year honors was Robert Morris standout freshman, Jaycee Gebhard. Gebhard not only led all CHA freshmen skaters in both goals (13) and assists (10) in conference play, she also led the CHA. The rookie enters the conference tournament in second in overall point scoring with 44 points on 22 goals and 22 helpers. Her 22 overall goals were the most in the conference.
The Coach of the Year is Robert Morris’ Paul Colontino. The Colonials got off to a hot start and never looked back, finishing with an impressive 22-4-6 overall record, including a 15-3-2 mark against CHA opponents. Colontino played a huge role in securing Robert Morris ‘first ever regular season title, along with the number one seed in the CHA tournament. The sixth year head coach eclipsed the 100 career win milestone during the season and finished with his highest winning percentage of his career with a .781 mark.
The CHA Top Defenseman is Syracuse’s Allie Munroe. Munroe anchored the Syracuse defense, a corps that ranked first in scoring defense at 1.78 goals per game. She also showcased her offensive abilities throughout the CHA schedule, totaling 16 points on five goals and 11 helpers in league play. She finished third in the league in defenseman scoring and was tied for third in assists.
The CHA Best Defensive Forward is RIT’s Mackenzie Stone. Stone showed that she does all the little things for the Tigers, exemplifying the gritty and unselfish play that comes with the position. Six of Stone’s seven points came in conference play, lighting the lamp three times while assisting on three goals.
Also announced tonight were the All-Conference and All-Rookie teams, the Team and Individual Sportsmanship Awards, as well as the CHA Scoring and Goaltending Trophies.
The CHA Tournament Quarterfinals gets underway on Thursday, March 2nd at 4:00 p.m. The first game features third seeded Mercyhurst against the number six seed Lindenwood. Following the completion of that game, fans will see fourth seed Penn State take on five seed RIT with an estimated start time at 7:30 p.m.
2016-17 College Hockey America Regular Season Awards
All-Conference First Team
Forwards
Brittany Howard – R-JR – Robert Morris University
Laura Bowman – SR – Penn State University
Stephanie Grossi – JR – Syracuse University
Defense
Allie Munroe – SO – Syracuse University
Kirsten Welsh – SO – Robert Morris University
Goalie
Jessica Dodds – SR – Robert Morris University
All-Conference Second Team
Forwards
Amy Petersen – SR – Penn State University
Brooke Hartwick – JR – Mercyhurst University
Jaycee Gebhard – FR – Robert Morris University
Defense
Jillian Skinner – JR – Mercyhurst University
Bella Sutton – JR – Penn State University
Goalie
Abbey Miller – JR – Syracuse University
All-Rookie Team
Forwards
Jaycee Gebhard – Robert Morris University
Maggie Knott – Mercyhurst
Brooke Madsen – Penn State University
Savannah Rennie – Syracuse University
Defense
Lindsay Eastwood – Syracuse University
Courtney Ganske – Lindenwood University
Katie McMillen – Penn State University
Goalie
Terra Lanteigne – Rochester Institute of Technology
Coach of the Year
Paul Colontino – Robert Morris University
Player of the Year
Brittany Howard – R-JR – Robert Morris University
Rookie of the Year
Jaycee Gebhard – F – Robert Morris University
Best Defensive Forward
Mackenzie Stone – SR – F – Rochester Institute of Technology
Best Defenseman
Allie Munroe – SO – D – Syracuse University
Individual Sportsmanship Award
Caitlin Wallace – SR – F – Rochester Institute of Technology
Scoring Trophy
Brittany Howard – R-JR – F – Robert Morris University
Goaltending Trophy
Abbey Miller – JR – Syracuse University
Team Sportsmanship Award
Penn State University
