The WCHA announced Friday that it will bestow the Otto Breitenbach WCHA Distinguished Service Award to longtime conference office employee Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt and the late Oliver “Butch” Mousseau, a former on-ice official.
The honor is presented to individuals who have rendered extraordinary service to the WCHA. Award recipients, who are nominated and voted upon by WCHA member schools, have included coaches, administrators, officials and members of the media.
LaBelle-Erhardt and Mousseau become the 40th and 41st honorees, respectively.
“The WCHA has long been recognized as one of the premier conferences in college hockey on and off the ice, and Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt and Butch Mousseau both helped us reach those heights,” said Greg Shepherd, the WCHA’s longtime supervisor of officials, in a statement. “Carol worked tirelessly for two decades to make the men’s and women’s leagues the best in the country, and did so with the highest levels of integrity and class. She also ran the Final Five tournament, putting it on par – if not above – the Frozen Four. On the ice, Butch was always one of our best officials, and his smile was a welcome sight at all WCHA arenas.
“Both are very deserving of this honor.”
LaBelle-Ehrhardt enjoyed a 17-year tenure as WCHA associate commissioner of operations, while Mousseau, who tragically passed away March 25 stemming from critical head injuries suffered during a fall to the ice during warmups March 18, was a highly-respected official in the WCHA for 13 seasons.
