AMESBURY, Mass. - The Hockey East Association today announced the 2022-23 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team and five other season-long awards as voted by the women’s league’s 10 head coaches as part of the celebration of the 21st annual Hockey East Tournament.
The 2022-23 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team consists of seven players and includes defenders Casey Borgiel (Port Huron, Mich./Holy Cross) and Brooke Disher (Fort St. John, B.C./Boston University) and forwards Lara Beecher (Buffalo, N.Y./Vermont), Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ont./Providence), Lily Shannon (Andover, Mass./Northeastern), Lilli Welcke (Heidelberg, Germany/Maine) and Luisa Welcke (Heidelberg, Germany/Maine).
Also recognized for their efforts in the 2022-23 campaign and named Army ROTC Defender of the Year are Northeastern senior Megan Carter (Milton, Ont.) and Vermont’s Sini Karjalainen (Posio, Finland). It marks the second straight year that a Husky and Catamount share the award after Skylar Fontaine and Maude Poulin-Labelle did so in 2021-22.
Providence graduate student Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) has been honored as the best defensive forward during the regular season. She is the first Friar to win the award since its inception in 2009-10.
New Hampshire senior forward Annie Berry (Milton, Mass.) was awarded the conference’s sportsmanship award. Berry has played 123 games in a Wildcat sweater and taken just 36 penalty minutes in conference play.
Two statistical awards were also formally announced as Alina Mueller (Wintherthur, Switzerland) was crowned the league’s top scorer (15g, 25a, 40p) for the third time (2019-20, 2020-21). Mueller ends her Hockey East career as the league’s all-time leading point-getter, amassing 175 points on 68 goals and 108 assists in 111 league games.
Boston College netminder Abigail Levy (Congers, N.Y.) earned the title of PNC Bank Three Stars Award, accumulating the highest total of points from first, second, and third star accolades during Hockey East league games over the course of the regular season.
The 2023 Hockey East Women’s Tournament begins tonight with Opening Round at Boston University and New Hampshire at 7:00 p.m. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the title game will air nationally on ESPNU.
Hockey East will announce the 2022-23 All-Star Teams on Friday, February 24 at 10:00 a.m. ahead of the quarterfinals on Saturday. The league will then announce finalists for the Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year awards on Monday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. The winners of those awards will then be revealed prior to the semifinals on Wednesday, March 1.
Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team
D: Casey Borgiel, Holy Cross
D: Brooke Disher, Boston University *
F: Lara Beecher, Vermont *
F: Reichen Kirchmair, Providence
F: Lily Shannon, Northeastern
F: Lilli Welcke, Maine *
F: Luisa Welcke, Maine
* denotes unanimous selection
Army ROTC Defender of the Year
Megan Carter, Northeastern
(Sr., Milton, Ont.)
Sini Karjalainen, Vermont
(Gr., Posio, Finland)
Runner-up:
Cayla Barnes, Boston College
(Sr., Eastvale, Calif.)
Best Defensive Forward Award
Sara Hjalmarsson, Providence
(Gr., F; Bankeryd, Sweden)
Runner-up:
Chloé Aurard, Northeastern
(Gr., Villard-de-Lans, France)
Sportsmanship Award
Annie Berry, New Hampshire
(Sr., F; Milton, Mass.)
Runner-up:
Raice Szott, Merrimack
(Jr., D; Daysland, Alta.)
Hockey East Scoring Champion
Alina Mueller, Northeastern
(Gr., F; Winterthur, Switzerland)
15g, 25a, 40p
Runner-up:
Chloé Aurard, Northeastern
(Gr., Villard-de-Lans, France)
16g, 22a, 38p
PNC Bank Three Stars Award
Abigail Levy, Boston College
(Gr., G; Congers, N.Y.)
Runner-up:
Alina Mueller, Northeastern
(Gr., F; Winterthur, Switzerland)
