Adrian’s Kristin Lewicki Named Player of the Year
as NCHA Releases All-League Honors and Awards
The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association announced today the Women’s Conference year-end awards, including Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, All-NCHA and All-Freshmen. League coaches voted to determine the award recipients.
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The 2016-17 NCHA Women’s Player of the Year is Adrian College senior Kristin Lewicki. The Moundsville, West Virginia native was nothing short of dominant this season for the Bulldogs, recording 57 points in 25 games played to lead the nation in scoring. Lewicki also leads the country in game-winning goals (8), power play goals (11) and assists (32) while leading the Bulldogs to a gleaming 23-2 overall record.
“She’s the most humble, quiet player I think I’ve ever coached ... in terms of her skill set, she’s just so fast,” Adrian head coach Chad Davis said. “And she’s a dynamic player, too, matching finesse with the ability to still get to the net and get things done out front.”
Lewicki’s name can be found multiple times on nearly every scoresheet from this season, having posted a point in all but three games. She put up points almost every night, including the biggest games of the year. In nine games against teams that made the NCHA playoffs, Lewicki contributed 23 points - 2.56 points per game. Eight of those points came in games against rival Lake Forest, which Adrian needed to beat on the final weekend of the regular season to clinch the top seed in the playoffs and bolster its resume for possible entrance to the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling and honor,” said Lewicki. “After freshman year, seeing how well I did and how much I could improve, it’s a great thing to get better every year, to represent my team and myself, and have it end with an award like this.”
The NCHA record book needed some updating after what Lewicki and Adrian accomplished this season. The 44 points Lewicki banked in conference play are the most ever in one season by an individual; her 2.44 points per game also rank first. (The records she broke dated back to 2001-02, the second year of NCHA conference play.) Thanks in part to Lewicki’s efforts, Adrian completed a perfect 18-0 conference record - the first ever in the history of the NCHA.
The league coaches also voted for Freshman of the Year, selecting Adrian defenseman Kelly O’Sullivan. Her 34 points led the nation in points by a defenseman and points by a freshman. The next-closest freshman defenseman trailed O’Sullivan by 19 points in the national rankings. O’Sullivan had 11 multi-point games, including a three-point game in the final series of the year against Lake Forest.
The 2016-17 Coach of the Year is Adrian’s Chad Davis, who led the Bulldogs to the Kronschnabel Trophy and the top seed in the upcoming Slaats Cup Playoffs. This is the third straight year Davis has earned the award. Davis led the Bulldogs to an 18-0 NCHA record, the first unbeaten and untied record ever in the history of the league. Adrian finished the regular season 23-2, ranked No. 2 in both the uscho.com and d3hockey.com national polls and No. 2 in the NCAA West Regional Rankings.
The Bulldogs dominated the All-NCHA Team, placing six different members on the squad. Joining Lewicki - a three-time all-league honoree - were fellow forwards Kaylyn Schroka and Sarah Shureb, defensemen Sydney Smith and Kelly O’Sullivan, as well as goalie Brooke Gibson. Schroka is a repeat honoree after piling up 52 points (25G/27A), second in the NCHA and third in the country. Smith is also a three-time selection to the all-league team, recording 31 points (10G/21A) while also helping Adrian to the lowest GAA in the league (1.52). O’Sullivan (10-24-34), Shureb (21-29-50; 3rd in NCHA) and Gibson were all first-time selections. Gibson paced the NCHA in goals-against average at 1.37, currently 13th-best in the nation.
Lake Forest had five representatives, with defenseman Kayla Griffith appearing for the third time in her career after posting 23 points (9G/14A). Olivia Spellmire was a repeat honoree from 2016, tallying 34 points (15G/19A) this season. Amy Budde made the jump from NCHA All-Freshman Team a year ago to all-league, leading the Foresters with 36 points (17G/19A), finishing fourth in the NCHA. Goalie Jacque Rogers (1.46 GAA/.937 save percentage/12-3-0 W-L) and defenseman Julia Unterseher (7-8-15) both made the squad as freshmen.
St. Scholastica senior forward Sierra Hanowski (10-21-31) and Concordia University Wisconsin sophomore goalie Christina Pattengale (2.50 GAA/.911 save percentage) round out the list. Both were first-time honorees.
O’Sullivan also made the NCHA All-Freshman Team, along with four players from Lake Forest College. Rogers and Unterseher were joined by forwards Lexi Morgan (7-8-15) and Sydney Simone (6-22-28), who was the second-leading freshman scorer in the league. Rounding out the team was forward Ally Fox from Marian University, who tallied 21 points (12G/9A) to finish third on the freshmen scoring list.
2016-17 NCHA Player of the Year: Kristin Lewicki, Adrian College
2016-17 NCHA Freshman of the Year: Kelly O’Sullivan, Adrian College
2016-17 NCHA Coach of the Year: Chad Davis, Adrian College
2016-17 Women’s NCHA All-Conference Team
Forward: Amy Budde, Lake Forest College (Soph./ Lindstrom, Minn.) 2016 All-Freshman
Forward: Sierra Hanowski, College of St. Scholastica (Sr./Warroad, Minn.)
Forward: Kristin Lewicki, Adrian College (Sr./ Moundsville, W.Va.) 2016 All-NCHA | 2015 All-NCHA | 2014 All-Freshman
Forward: Kaylyn Schroka, Adrian College (Sr./ Belleville, Mich.) 2016 All-NCHA
Forward: Sarah Shureb, Adrian College (Sr./Livonia, Mich.)
Forward: Olivia Spellmire, Lake Forest College (Jr./ Bloomington, Minn.) 2016 All-NCHA
Defense: Kayla Griffith, Lake Forest College (Jr./ Woodbury, Minn.) 2016 All-NCHA | 2015 All-NCHA | 2015 All-Freshman
Defense: Kelly O’Sullivan, Adrian College (Fr./ Inverness, Ill.)
Defense: Sydney Smith, Adrian College (Sr./ Sarnia, Ontario)2016 All-NCHA | 2015 All-NCHA
Defense: Julia Unterseher, Lake Forest College (Fr./ North Oaks, Minn.)
Goalie: Brooke Gibson, Adrian College (Sr./Strathroy, Ontario)
Goalie: Christina Pattengale, Concordia University Wisconsin (So./ Portage, Mich.)2016 All-Freshman
Goalie: Jacque Rogers, Lake Forest College (Fr./ Marysville, Ill.)
-Additional goalie due to tie in voting
2016-17 Women’s NCHA All-Freshman Team
Forward: Ally Fox, Marian University (Greenville, Wis.)
Forward: Lexi Morgan, Lake Forest College (Medina, Ohio)
Forward: Sydney Simone, Lake Forest College (Plymouth, Minn.)
Defense: Kelly O’Sullivan, Adrian College (Inverness, Ill.)
Defense: Julia Unterseher, Lake Forest College (North Oaks, Minn.)
Goalie: Jacque Rogers, Lake Forest College (Marysville, Ill.)