Tecumseh, Ont. native Krystin Lawrence, who excelled at both varsity hockey and soccer for the University of Windsor Lancers, was named female athlete-of-the-year at her school. (Gerry Marentette photo)

A total of 17 hockey players were named as athletes-of-the-year at their respective schools as the U SPORTS university programs held awards banquets from coast-to-coast.

Leading the way were players from the women's division as 11 players, including a dual-sport athlete, were recognized for their efforts during the 2016-17 sports calendar year.

Krystin Lawrence from the University of Windsor Lancers excelled at the rink as well as on the soccer pitch, combining both her schooling while playing a pair of varsity sports.

On the ice, the third-year player captured her second straight OUA scoring title with 32 points, including 23 goals, and was named OUA player-of-the-year. She was also a U SPORTS all-Canadian for the first time.

As a soccer goaltender, the Tecumseh, Ont. native finished with a 0.64 goals-against-average, a .833 save percentage and was selected to the OUA first all-star team.

Four players from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) schools were named as female athletes-of-the-year at their respective institutions. They were Sarah Bujold of the St. FX X-Women, Kelty Apperson of the St. Thomas Tommies, Breanna Lanceleve of the Saint Mary's Huskies and Marie-Soleil Deschenes of the UPEI Panthers.

Bujold, who was also named as the AUS MVP, led the country in both goals (24) and points (43) while leading the X-Women to a national championship berth. The third-year performer from Riverview, N.B. was also named as a U SPORTS first-team all-star.

Apperson, from New Hamburg, Ont., led the Tommies in scoring with 28 points and was named female athlete-of-the-year for the second straight season. She also played for Team Canada at the Winter Universiade in Kazakhstan and was named to the AUS second all-star team. 

Lanceleve, a fourth-year forward from Lower Sackville, N.S., led her team in goals with 15 and the conference in assists with 24. She also captained the Huskies for the past three seasons and was named to the AUS first all-star team and to the U SPORTS second team all-Canadian squad in 2016-17.

Deschenes, a goaltender from Ile-Perrot, Que., finished with a goal against average of 1.82 and a .939 save percentage while winning 10 games for the Panthers. She was named to the AUS first all-star squad for her efforts this past campaign.

Four-time all-Canadian and a gold medal winner for Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics, forward Mélodie Daoust was selected top athlete for the McGill Martlets of the RSEQ conference. The Valleyfield, Que. native finished her university career with 272 points (116g, 156a) in 143 games over five years.

The Canada West athletes-of-the-year included goaltender Lindsey Post (Chelsea, Que.) of the national champion University of Alberta Pandas, goaltender Sandy Heim (Wilderswil, Switzerland) of the MacEwan University Griffins and forward Lauryn Keen (Manitou) of the Manitoba Bisons.

A pair of goalies from the OUA were named top athletes at their schools. Jackie Rochefort (Ajax, Ont.) of the Nipissing (North Bay) Lakers and Stephanie Sluys (Clinton, Ont.) of the Waterloo Warriors received the honours.

The six players from U SPORTS men's hockey receiving athlete-of-the-year nods were: University Cup MVP forward Philippe Maillet (Terrebonne, Que.) of the two-time national champion University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds; forward Jean-Francois Plante (Sherbrooke, Que.) of the Moncton Aigles Bleus; forward Anthony De Luca (Rosemere, Que.) of the Concordia Stingers; goaltender Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) of the Queen's Gaels; goaltender Jordon Cooke (Leduc, Alta.) of the Saskatchewan Huskies; and forward Connor Rankin (North Vancouver, B.C.) of the Mount Royal Cougars.