Women's Ice Hockey

MIAC announces 2024-25 Women's Hockey awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its award honorees for the 2024-25 Women's Hockey season on Monday.

Gustavus forward Lily Mortenson was selected by MIAC head coaches as the Offensive Player of the Year, while Augsburg defender Nora Stepan was voted Defensive Player of the Year. St. Catherine forward Ana Myers was named the Women’s Hockey Rookie of the Year, and Saint Mary’s forward Allie Urlaub 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.

Mortenson (Jr. | Champlin, Minn. | Benilde-St. Margaret’s) was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in every major offensive statistic this season. Mortenson was the MIAC leader in goals (16), assists (15), points (31), shots (108), faceoff wins (237), and hat tricks (2) in conference games. She also ranked second in power-play goals with six. Mortenson is one of eight Gusties all-time to receive MIAC Player of the Year honors in women's hockey.

Stepan (Jr. | Apple Valley, Minn. | Eastview) was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Auggies secure their first outright regular season title in program history in 2024-25. Stepan’s leadership on the defensive end of the ice was pivotal to Augsburg leading the conference with just 24 goals allowed in MIAC play. Stepan also produced offensively, scoring 11 goals - four on power-plays and four of which were game-winners - and assisting on seven more. A former MIAC Rookie of the Year recipient, Stepan is the fourth different Auggie to receive an MIAC Player of the Year award in women’s hockey, and the first since Bridget Wagner in 2020.

Myers (Fy. | Lino Lakes, Minn. | Gentry) was selected as the MIAC Rookie of the Year after scoring nine goals and assisting on three others against conference opponents. Myers was one of five players to record a hat trick in league play and ranked among the MIAC’s top ten in goals (9), shots (69), and faceoff wins (154) in her debut season. She is the first Wildcat in program history to be named MIAC Rookie of the Year.

Johnson (sixth season) was voted MIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Oles to their third postseason berth in the last four seasons. Johnson’s squad more than doubled its MIAC win total from a year ago, finishing with St. Olaf’s second-highest conference win total in more than a decade. This is Johnson’s second MIAC Coach of the Year award, having been previously selected for the honor in 2023.

Urlaub (Sr. | Burnsville, 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 has displayed good leadership and citizenship. 

“Allie is someone who epitomizes the definition for the Sheila Brown Award,” Saint Mary’s head coach Heath Isaacson said.

A team captain each of the last two seasons, Urlaub is a two-time honorable mention All-MIAC selection who logged 24 goals and 40 assists in 102 career games for the Cardinals. Off the ice, Urlaub is an accounting and finance double-major at SMU who has been an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Finance Committee, and Accounting Club on campus. Urlaub has also been a leader in the community, volunteering her time and talents with Minnesota Special Hockey, Winona Impact Center, Feed My Starving Children, Run “2” For SMU, and the Think Pink Run.

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. Urlaub is the Cardinals’ first-ever Sheila Brown Award recipient.

In addition to individual awards, MIAC coaches also selected 20 players All-Conference with seven 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 regular season 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.

Eight of the 20 players named All-Conference in 2024 had also received the honor in 2023 or 2024. Gustavus'  Brooke Power joined an exclusive company as the 25th four-time All-MIAC honoree in recorded women's hockey history. Four players - Augsburg’s Emily Cronkhite and Nora Stepan, Saint Benedict’s Jenna Timm, and St. Olaf’s Solvei Berg-Messerole - received All-Conference honors for the third time in their MIAC careers.

The MIAC also announced the annual All-Playoff Team for women's hockey, which recognized the top eight performers from the conference tournament, as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.

| 2024-25 MIAC Women's Hockey Awards |