AMESBURY, Mass. - The Hockey East Association today announced the 2023-24 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 22nd annual Hockey East Tournament.
The 2023-24 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team consists of eight players and includes goaltender Sedona Blair (Eden Prairie, Minn./New Hampshire), defender Molly Jordan (Berlin, Conn./Boston College), and forwards Ashley Allard (Ottawa, Ont./UConn), Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis./Providence), Allie Lalonde (Irvine, Calif./Northeastern), Kaylee Lewis (McKinney, Texas/Vermont), Julia Pellerin (Windham, N.H./Boston College), and Sammy Taber (Tewksbury, Mass./Boston College).
Also recognized for her efforts in the 2023-24 campaign is Northeastern’s Megan Carter (Milton, Ont.) who has been named Army ROTC Defender of the Year for the second straight season. It is the fifth consecutive year that a Husky has been tabbed as the league’s best defender.
UConn senior Kathryn Stockdale (Ottawa, Ont.) has been honored as the best defensive forward during the regular season. She becomes the fourth Husky to win the award, following Jennifer Chiasson (2009-10), Leah Burress (2015-16), and Briana Colangelo (2017-18).
New Hampshire graduate forward Annie Berry (Milton, Mass.) was awarded the conference’s sportsmanship award for the second straight year. Berry has played 159 games in a Wildcat sweater and taken just 40 penalty minutes in conference play.
For the first time ever, two players share the league’s scoring crown as Maine’s Ida Kuoppala (Pedersore, Findland) and Vermont’s Natalie Mlynkova (Zlin, Czechia) were honored as the highest point-getters in Hockey East play (15g, 11a, 26p). Kuoppala is the first Maine Black Bear to lead the league in scoring, while Mlynkova is just the second Catamount to do so after Theresa Schafzahl in 2021-22.
Northeastern netminder Gwyneth Philips (Athens, Ohio) earned the Hockey East 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 2024 Hockey East Women’s Tournament begins tonight with Opening Round with at Holy Cross at Boston University on NESN and Merrimack at Maine at 6:00 p.m. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the title game will air nationally on ESPNU. H
ockey East will announce the 2023-24 All-Star Teams on Friday, March 1 at 10:00 a.m. ahead of the quarterfinals on Friday and Saturday. Hockey East will announce finalists for the Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year awards on Monday, March 4 at 3:00 p.m. The winners of those awards will then be revealed prior to the semifinals on Wednesday, March 6
Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team
G: Sedona Blair, New Hampshire
D: Molly Jordan, Boston College
F: Ashley Allard, UConn
F: Audrey Knapp, Providence
F: Allie Lalonde, Northeastern
F: Kaylee Lewis, Vermont
F: Julia Pellerin, Boston College
F: Sammy Taber, Boston College *
* denotes unanimous selection
BW Windjammer Defender of the Year
Megan Carter, Northeastern
(Gr., Milton, Ont.)
Runner-up:
Camryn Wong, UConn
(Gr., Vancouver, B.C.)
Best Defensive Forward Award
Kathryn Stockdale, UConn
(Sr., F; Ottawa, Ont.)
Runner-up:
Peyton Anderson, Northeastern
(Gr., Arvada, Colo.)
Sportsmanship Award
Annie Berry, New Hampshire
(Gr., F; Milton, Mass.)
Runner-up:
Lilly Feeney, Holy Cross
(Sr., F; Foxborough, Mass.)
Hockey East Scoring Champion
Ida Kuoppala, Maine
(Gr., F; Pedersore, Finland)
15g, 11a, 26p
Natalie Mlynkova, Vermont
(Sr., F; Zlin, Czechia)
15g, 11a, 26p
Hockey East Three Stars Award
Gwyneth Philips, Northeastern
(Gr., G; Athens, Ohio)
Runner-up:
Jada Habisch, UConn
(Sr., F; Buffalo, Minn.)
