Looking back on arguably the best season of D-III Women’s hockey we’ve seen to date for a multitude of reasons, we now need to recognize the players who’ve stood out. The awards that will be given are USCHO First-Team, Second-Team, Rookie of the Year (ROTY), Coach of the Year (COTY), & Player of the Year (POTY). It should be noted that statistics are not the end all be all in terms of awards. There’s a multitude of factors that go into the selection process.
*All cited statistics are via USCHO*
USCHO First Team:
Darci Matson
Wasilla, AK – Sophomore – Forward – Aurora University Spartans
Darci Matson of Aurora University earned herself a spot primarily for being the nation’s point leader (64), 2nd in goals (31), and 1st in assists (33). She had a game-high 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) on 11/11/22 vs Finlandia University and notched at least 1 point in all but two games this season for the Spartans. Also, to add, she had 7 GWG (game-winning goals) and 3 SHG (shorthanded goals) while averaging 2.37 PPG (points-per-game).
Sophie Rausch
Fergus Falls, MN – Senior – Forward – University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Sophie Rausch of UW-Eau Claire earns herself a spot after putting up the nation’s 2nd most points (49), the most goals by any player this season (32), and 17 assists to go along with her goals. Rausch scored a nation-leading 12 PPG (power-play-goals) and 7 GWG’s. Fun fact: She joined the 100-career point club on 1/7/23 vs St. Norbert College where she recorded 2 goals and 1 assist, which funny enough was also her birthday (via HC Erik Strand on Twitter). Something else worth noting, her penalty minutes were extremely low, only committing 2 minor penalties for a total of 4 minutes.
Maddie McCollins
Maple Grove, MN – Senior – Forward – University of Wisconsin River Falls
Maddie McCollins of UW-River Falls led her team to the WIAC regular & postseason titles with her 48 points (28 goals, 20 assists). She had a game-high 6 points on 1/19/23 vs UW-Superior, scoring twice and adding 4 assists for a total of 6 points. McCollins showed up during big games, contributing points in a majority of her team’s games vs ranked opponents. Like Rausch, her penalty minutes were extremely low, committing only one minor penalty all season for a total of 2 minutes… To cap it off, she had 4 GWG, 5 PPG, & 1 SHG.
Kathryn Truban
Hamilton, NJ – Junior – Defense – Adrian College
Kathryn Truban was the point leader for all defenseman in the nation and was the best all-around defenseman all season. She had a game-high 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) vs Lawrence University on 2/24/23. Statistics aren’t always the best way to rate a defenseman as its very subjective considering defenders are asked to do different things based on the team’s style of play, but her play this season is nothing short of the top in all categories.
Sierra Benjamin
Palm Coast, FL – 5th yr. Graduate Senior – Defense – Plattsburgh State
Sierra Benjamin of Plattsburgh State was the standout defenseman this season out east. She had 30 points (5 goals, 25 assists), recognized by various coaches and individuals as being the best there was this season in the eastern region. She came up big in some of Plattsburgh’s biggest games this season, notching points against the highest-ranked opponents the Cardinals faced during the regular season.
Katie McCoy
Grafton, WI – Senior – Goalie – Gustavus Adolphus
Katie McCoy was the standout goaltender this season, nearly had a shutout in the national championship game as well, but got the win, nevertheless. She also stood tall during the MIAC playoffs, helping her team win the regular season & playoffs. She finished the year with a 26-3 record, a .946 save-percentage, a .86 GAA (goals-against-average), & 9 shutouts.
USCHO Second Team:
Ann-Frederique Guay
St-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Quebec – Senior – Forward – Norwich University
Ann-Frederique Guay finished the season with 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists), tied for the most points from a player out east this year. Her name was frequently mentioned by everyone including coaches and players for being arguably the best player on the ice whenever she was skating. She had 4 GWG and 2 PPG and led her team by a wide margin in points with the next closest being 32. This season it seemed as though Norwich went as Guay went, being by far the most important player on the team. Her game highs were against New England College and Salem State where she recorded 5 points in each.
Jessica VonRuden
Owatonna, MN – 5th yr. Graduate Senior – Forward – Adrian College
Jessica VonRuden finished the season with 48 points (28 goals, 20 assists), her game high coming this season versus Finlandia University on 1/21/23 where she tallied 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists). She joined the 100-point club this season and ended her career with 142.
Sara Krauseneck
Saginaw, MI – 5th yr. Graduate Senior – Forward – Plattsburgh State
Sara Krauseneck finished the season with 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists) and led a very balanced Plattsburgh team this season in points. The Cardinals were extremely balanced this season in terms of point leaders, but she came out on top by a margin of 10. Her game high this season was versus SUNY Morrisville on 11/19/22 where she recorded 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists).
Julia Holmes
Reading, MA – Junior – Defense – Nazareth College
Julia Holmes was the other standout defenseman from the east region as she helped lead Nazareth to another UCHC regular season & playoff title. The biggest moment from her this season was her goal vs Utica in the UCHC championship game, scoring 1:55 into overtime #2 (81:55 mark of the game) to send Nazareth back to the NCAA tournament. Her season total for points was 28 (8 goals, 20 assists).
Maya Roy
Clarkston, MI – Junior – Defense – Adrian College
Maya Roy earns a spot after finishing the season with 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) and her impact wasn’t always seen on the stat sheet. Praised by numerous coaches for her play and efforts this season, she’s gotten herself the final defenseman spot on the award list. She had two games of 3 points and committed a relatively low number of penalties for a defenseman.
USCHO Rookie of the Year (ROTY) & Second Team Goalie
Natalie Stott
Franklin, MA – Freshman – Goalie – Amherst College
It was quite remarkable to see what freshman goaltender Natalie Stott was able to achieve this season. To highlight some of her season, she led her team in net to a national title appearance, finished with a 25-4 record, led the nation in minutes played (1766:46), had a .955 save-percentage, .95 GAA, and 9 shutouts (14 if you include games where she didn’t play a full 60 minutes due to being pulled for a delayed penalty, etc.). One of the most impressive stats is this, to end the season, she had 7 shutouts in her last 9 games. Her biggest game came in the national championship vs Gustavus Adolphus where she made 59 saves and played a season-high 100:56 minutes.
USCHO Player of the Year (POTY)
Maddie McCollins
Maple Grove, MN – Senior – Forward – University of Wisconsin River Falls
Maddie McCollins has been given the POTY award based on a multitude of factors this season. As it was stated, awards are not given on a purely points basis. McCollins was a part of a loaded UW-River Falls team statistically, she led the team with 48, behind her was 42, 41, 35, 35, 32… Remove one or two of those players from the equation and she easily could’ve added 10-15 points to her totals. More importantly, she showed up in the majority of the teams’ big games as they played a very tough schedule.
She was the team leader in the Cardinal/Panther Classic where UWRF defeated both Plattsburgh and Middlebury, both top-3 teams at the time, where she recorded 3 points on the weekend and led her team to the pair of victories and was named to the All-Tournament team. She also came up big in their win over Gustavus Adolphus late in the season, she had 2 assists in the 2-1 victory at home. She would then tally points vs UW-Eau Claire when it mattered late in the season and the WIAC playoffs.
McCollins stood out from the pack on her team that, as mentioned, was absolutely loaded with talent and high individual statistical numbers. Along with playing a top-13 SOS (strength-of-schedule), playing against well-rounded competition, and going out east, leading her team to victories over two of the best teams in that region, she’s shown the most out of anyone. Although she didn’t lead the country in points, she’s excelled in so many other areas and done more than nearly anyone for those reasons listed above. She’s your POTY.
USCHO Coach of the Year (COTY):
Emily McNamera
10th season – 22-6-2 record in ‘22-’23 – NCAA Frozen Four – Hamilton College
Head Coach Emily McNamera earns herself COTY after leading Hamilton to their best season in program history by a wide margin. McNamera led Hamilton to their first ever NCAA tournament bid by reaching the NESCAC conference championship and losing to the eventual national runner-up Amherst. They then went on the road in the first round of the NCAA tournament and defeated 26-3 Adrian 2-1, that was Adrian’s only loss at home all year as they were unbeaten at home previous to that (18-0).
Adding to all of that, this was the first season Hamilton ever surpassed 20+ wins as a program and ended the year with the highest winning percentage in history (.767). This year the Continentals seemed to come out of nowhere and surprise everyone as a team. The team was always consistent, but they seemed to not be able to make that next step up in terms of the NCAA tournament, but this year they surpassed all expectations.
