After coming off a strong season in which they finished third in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), two Carleton Ravens women’s hockey players were recognized as all-stars and a third won an award and was nominated for another.
Fourth-year forward Kristen MacDonald received the RSEQ Leadership and Social Implication Award and was the RSEQ nominee for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Marion Hilliard Award, which is given to the athlete who best combines excellence in both sports and academia with community involvement.
She placed second in team scoring this season and has been a big presence in the community, according to Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge.
“MacDonald has been a part of the student athlete varsity council, has helped lead the Carleton food drive, and has also volunteered with the [Start2Finish Running & Reading Club],” said Coolidge, referring to a program designed to help youth read while keeping fit.
MacDonald has accomplished this while simultaneously maintaining an average of above 80 per cent.
“She has a calming influence in the dressing room and when she speaks up, people listen,” Coolidge said.
Fifth-year defender Melanie McKnight and second-year goaltender Tamber Tisdale, meanwhile, were both named to the RSEQ second all-star team. They are both deserving all-stars, Coolidge said.
“McKnight has played in more shootout games than any other player and has been a real clutch performer for Carleton, giving the program an opportunity to win,” she said.
Over the course of her 94-game career, which is the most games played by any current Raven, McKnight scored 14 shootout goals on 20 attempts, including six game-winners.
“Players look up to her in the dressing room. They look to her as that sort of calming soul,” Coolidge said.
Tisdale, meanwhile, finished the season with a .917 save percentage, placing her second only to McGill goaltender and Olympian Charline Labonté.
“She has risen to the challenge and played really well for us in games,” Coolidge said of her young goaltender.
“I used to put a lot of pressure on myself mentally, but this year I am just playing for the love of the game, and it is definitely paying off,” Tisdale added.
