Four Gusties Named To MIAC Women’s Hockey All-Conference Team

St. Paul, Minn. – Four Gustavus women’s hockey players were honored by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in its postseason awards, which were released Wednesday.  Senior Melissa Doyle (White Bear Lake, Minn.), juniors Courtney Boucher (Hastings, Minn.) and Carolyn Draayer (Deephaven, Minn.), and sophomore Allison Eder-Zdechlik (Stillwater, Minn.) each earned a place on the 2013-14 MIAC All-Conference Team.

Taking home the honor of Player-of-the-Year was Bethel’s Cristina Masten after a brilliant senior season that saw her lead the league with 35 points stemming from 20 goals and 15 assists.  Nicki Mosbeck of St. Catherine was named the Shelia Brown Award winner.  The award is given annually to one senior who has made a long-term contribution to her team’s success and who has consistently competed with good sportsmanship.  The Coach-of-the-Year went to St. Thomas head coach Tom Palkowski.  Palkowski led his team to a 17-5-3 regular season record, including a 14-2-2 mark in league play to capture the MIAC title, which ended Gustavus’s streak of nine straight regular season crowns.

A scrappy forward with a sense for space on the ice, Melissa Doyle earns her first All-Conference honor following the best season of her collegiate career in her senior campaign.  Doyle scored 11 goals to go along with nine assists for a total of 20 points on the year.  Her 11 goals were second on the team and tied for seventh among all players in the MIAC, while her 20 points ranked third on the team tied for ninth in the league.  For her career, Doyle has played in 113 games, scored 34 goals, and dished out 29 assists for a total of 63 points.

A versatile player that made the switch from forward to defender prior to the beginning of this season, Courtney Boucher makes her first appearance on the All-Conference Team.  The junior has been an anchor for a Gustavus blue line that has allowed 1.77 goals per game (3rd/MIAC) and has killed off penalties at a 92.7 percent rate (1st/MIAC), which ranks second in the nation among Division III women’s hockey teams.  Boucher has also scored three goals to go along with a team-high 14 assists (t-5th/MIAC) for 17 points (11th/MIAC), a mark that leads all league defenders.

Skilled with the puck and able to do nearly anything her team needs on the ice, Carolyn Draayer is honored by the MIAC for the third straight season.  An MIAC Honorable Mention and All-Rookie performer in her first season, Draayer was named to the Honorable Mention Team in her sophomore season.  Now a junior, the Deephaven, Minn., native makes her first appearance on the All-Conference squad.  Carolyn has played in all 26 games this season, scoring eight goals and passing out six assists for 14 points.  She now has played in 84 career games and scored 40 goals to go along with 21 assists for 61 points.

Emerging as Gustavus’s go-to goal-scorer this season, Allison Eder-Zdechlik makes her second straight appearance in the MIAC post season awards after being selected to the All-Rookie and Honorable Mention teams in her first season.  Eder-Zdechlik proved to be one of the top scorers in the league in her sophomore campaign, ranking second in goals (19) and fifth in points (26).  Each mark led the Gusties, while her +19 rating ranks second on the team behind Amanda Cartony (+22).  In her young career, Alllison has already amassed 33 goals and 17 assists for 50 points in just 56 games.

Gustavus will take on St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon for the MIAC Playoff Championship.  The Gusties will look for an 11th straight playoff title against the Tommies, who are looking for their first since the 2002-03 season.  Saturday’s contest is set for a 2:00 p.m., opening face off at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the seventh annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women’s hockey.  Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.  Gustavus’s representative on the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team was Carolyn Draayer.

MIAC Release