Women's Ice Hockey

MIAC announces 2022-23 Women's Hockey awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its award honorees for the 2022-23 Women's Hockey season on Tuesday.
 
Gustavus senior forward Hailey Holland and senior defender Kayla Vrieze were selected by MIAC head coaches as the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, while Augsburg first-year defender Nora Stepan was named Rookie of the Year and St. Catherine senior defender Kaitlyn Blair was honored with the Sheila Brown Award for outstanding citizenship in MIAC women’s hockey. St. Olaf head coach Tracy Johnson was recognized by her peers with Coach of the Year honors.
 
Holland (Aberdeen, S.D. | Central) was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading all MIAC scorers with 15 goals and 24 points in 18 conference games. She recorded multiple points in nine conference contests and posted a league-best 1.33 points per game during the 2022-23 season, helping the Gusties to an average margin of victory of 4.1 on the year. Holland is the first Gustie to receive individual MIAC postseason honors since Carolyn Draayer was selected as the Sheila Brown Award winner in 2015, and the first Gustavus player to earn top on-ice honors since Lindsey Hjelm was named MIAC Player of the Year in 2013.
 
Vrieze (Eagan, Minn.) was selected as the MIAC Defensive Player of the Year. The senior defender had a plus/minus of +20 in conference contests and helped hold Gustavus opponents to just 14 total goals – tied for the sixth fewest in MIAC history – in 18 league games. Vrieze is the first player from the defender position to receive individual MIAC postseason honors since Gustavus’ Stefanie Ubl won the Player of the Year award in 2008.
 
Stepan (Apple Valley, Minn. | Eastview) was named MIAC Rookie of the Year. She led all defenders with 16 points on the season and posted a plus/minus of +20 – tied for the fourth-best mark in the conference. She is the first Auggie to receive individual MIAC postseason honors since Bridget Wagner received Co-Player of the Year recognition in 2020.
 
Johnson (Fourth Season) was voted by her peers as the MIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Oles to the program’s best conference season in more than a decade. Johnson’s team went 10-7-1 in MIAC games in 2022-23, making the jump from last place in the conference standings a year ago to hosting the first home playoff game in St. Olaf Ice Arena history this season. She is the third St. Olaf head coach to be named MIAC Women’s Hockey Coach of the Year, joining Tom Osiecki (2003) and John Bazzachini (2007).
 
Blair (New Prague, Minn.) was selected as the Sheila Brown Award recipient. The honor is given to a senior MIAC women's ice hockey student-athlete who has made a long-term contribution to their team's success, has excelled competitively, and displayed good leadership and citizenship. A four-year starter on the ice and a four-year Dean’s List honoree off it, Blair led St. Catherine in minutes per game while playing in every contest since the 2019-20 campaign. Outside of competition, the Wildcats’ captain has a 3.86 GPA while majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Psychology. She is the president of the Wildcat Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a National College Athlete Honor Society inductee, and the coordinator of St. Catherine’s Polar Plunge fundraiser that raised more than $10,000 for Minnesota Special Olympics.
 
“Kaitlyn is our rock,” St. Catherine head coach Brad Marshall said. “A dedicated student-athlete who can handle the rigorous academic schedule, be a team captain and everything that comes with that, excel on the ice, volunteer more than anyone on the team, and still be a major contributor during competition.”
 
The Sheila Brown Award is named in memory of Sheila Brown, the longtime St. Catherine athletic director who was an ardent advocate of women in athletics and played a critical role in bringing women’s hockey to the MIAC as a varsity sport in the late 1990s. Blair is the fourth Wildcat in history to receive the Sheila Brown Award, and the first since Nicki Mosbeck in 2014.
 
In addition to individual awards, MIAC coaches also selected 20 players All-Conference with nine more receiving honorable mention distinction. All awards were nominated by and voted on by the ten MIAC head women’s hockey coaches and only statistics from MIAC contests were considered for conference honors; any nominated player not selected as All-Conference but still receiving votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.
 
Seven of the 20 players named All-Conference in 2023 were also selected in 2022, while Gustavus’ Hailey Holland and Tina Press received the honor for the third times in their careers.
 
The MIAC also announced the inaugural All-Playoff Team for women’s hockey, which recognized the top eight performers from the conference tournament, as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Offensive Player of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Hailey Holland Gustavus Sr. Aberdeen, S.D. | Central --
 
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Defensive Player of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
D Kayla Vrieze Gustavus Sr. Eagan, Minn. --
 
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Rookie of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School
D Nora Stepan Augsburg Fy. Apple Valley, Minn. | Eastview
 
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Sheila Brown Award
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School
D Kaitlyn Blair St. Catherine Sr. New Prague, Minn.
 
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Coach of the Year
Name Institution Previous Selections
Tracy Johnson St. Olaf --
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey All-Conference
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Solvei Berg-Messerole St. Olaf Fy. Minneapolis, Minn. | Highland Park --
F Allie Bussey St. Scholastica Jr. Hibbing, Minn. --
F Emily Cronkhite Augsburg So. Eagan, Minn. --
F Katie Flynn Augsburg Sr. Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge 2020 (HM)
F Hailey Holland Gustavus Sr. Aberdeen, S.D. | Central 2020 | 2022
F Kaitlyn Holland Gustavus So. Aberdeen, S.D. | Central --
F Emily Olson Gustavus Sr. Delano, Minn. 2022
F Aurora Opsahl Saint Benedict So. Duluth, Minn. | Hermantown --
F Brooke Power Gustavus Jr. Lakeville, Minn. | North 2022
F Tina Press Gustavus Sr. Cottage Grove, Minn. | Park 2020 | 2022
F Marie Reimer St. Catherine Sr. Rogers, Minn. --
F Kennedy Stein Augsburg Jr. Lake Forest, Ill. --
D Payton Allen Augsburg Sr. St. Michael, Minn. | St. Michael-Albertville 2022
D Grace Lankas St. Olaf So. Lakeville, Minn. | Apple Valley --
D Brooke Remington Gustavus Jr. Scandia, Minn. | Forest Lake --
D Nora Stepan Augsburg Fy. Apple Valley, Minn. | Eastview --
D Jenna Timm Saint Benedict So. Maple Grove, Minn. 2022
D Kayla Vrieze Gustavus Sr. Eagan, Minn. 2022
G Hannah Fritz St. Olaf Fy. Woodbury, Minn. | Cretin-Derham Hall --
G Katie McCoy Gustavus Sr. Grafton, Wis. | Cedarburg 2022 (HM)
2022-23 MIAC Women’s Hockey Honorable Mention
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Laura Denchfield St. Catherine Sr. Brooklyn Park, Minn. | Osseo 2020 (HM) | 2022 (HM)
F Haley Eder-Zdechlik Hamline Jr. Stillwater, Minn. --
F Jerica Friese Concordia Jr. Argusville, N.D. | Fargo Shanley 2022 (AC)
F Lily Mortenson Gustavus Fy. Champlin, Minn. | Benilde-St. Margaret’s --
F Abby Pohlkamp St. Scholastica Sr. Baxter, Minn. | Brainerd 2022 (AC)
F Molly Terebayza St. Olaf Fy. Coon Rapids, Minn. --
D Kaitlyn Blair St. Catherine Sr. New Prague, Minn. 2022 (AC)
D Elizabeth Valley Hamline Sr. Forest Lake, Minn. --
G Chloe Stockinger Augsburg Jr. Sauk Rapids, Minn. | Sauk Rapids-Rice --
2023 MIAC Women’s Hockey All-Playoff Team
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Emily Cronkhite Augsburg So. Eagan, Minn. --
F Jenna Gerold Augsburg Sr. Farmington, Minn. --
F Hailey Holland Gustavus Sr. Aberdeen, S.D. | Central --
F Emme Nelson Hamline Jr. Mahtomedi, Minn. --
F Tina Press Gustavus Sr. Cottage Grove, Minn. | Park --
D Jenna Timm Saint Benedict So. Maple Grove, Minn. --
D Kayla Vrieze Gustavus Sr. Eagan, Minn. --
F Iona Welsch St. Olaf So. Lakeville, Minn. | South --