First-year defenceman named among best in U Sports after standout season
On March 14, University of Ottawa Women’s Hockey player Christine Deaudelin was named to the U Sports All-Rookie team in her inaugural season with the Gee-Gees.
The defenceman recorded three goals and nine points in 20 contests with her team this year, leading all players of the same position and good for third among all players. In addition, the Réseau du Sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) selected her in the second All-Stars Team, as well as in their All-Rookie Team.
“I was surprised to be named on such a high stage,” Deaudelin said. “For young rookies like me, I surely have my eyes on that at the beginning of the year, but once everything starts, I stopped thinking about it and concentrated on my game. It’s always great to see that my hard work paid off.”
According to Deaudelin, “I think I worked hard all year long, scored a lot of points for a defenceman and to me, my passes were very nice. My teammates assisted me a great deal of time in the adaptation to this new university, notably in many aspects of my game.”
With the team’s coach Yannick Evola saying of Deaudelin she is a leader for the team, she felt like she was one, in part. “I’m not someone that speaks a lot, but I think I can be a leader in the actions I put to the team on and off the ice. I had a great group of girls surrounding me, that really helped me as I was able to make myself models to look up to for years to come.”
The Beloeil, QC native, currently studying Criminology at the U of O, has intentions to come back to the hockey team next year. “We will need to work together to be able to make it farther,” she said. “Good communication between players is always an asset. This season, we missed out on a couple details of team play, but overall, I would say we had a good performance this year,” she added.
The Gee-Gees Women’s Hockey team finished third in the RSEQ this season, qualifying for the playoffs. They came across the Concordia Stingers in the first round, a series they lost two games to one.
Christine Deaudelin and the Gee-Gees will be back in action this October, playing home games at the Minto Sports complex.
