Defensemen rewarded for strong season last week
Gee-Gees defencemen Jacob Sweeney and Médric Mercier were both honoured by the East division of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Men’s Hockey last week, with Sweeney named to the second All-Star team, while Mercier to the All-Rookie team at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
The two players just racked up excellent seasons at the blue line for Ottawa. In 26 games, Sweeney earned four goals and 14 points, while Mercier scored seven goals and 12 points. Sweeney led all the defencemen on the team in points, and Mercier in goals.
“I felt really good about it,” said Sweeney on his nomination. “It’s a good compensation and it shows my worth to the team. The fact that it was voted by coaches made me feel even better about it, it shows the impact I have on the league, so it was definitely an honour.”
“Personally, I see myself as a leader, and when the team is successful I feel like one too. I pride myself as a big shot-blocker, that’s a big way of contributing to the team off the scoresheet. To me, it’s never been about my game, but more of the team’s successes,” said Sweeney.
The team, which saw ups and downs all season long, compiled a record of 16-8-4 after 28 games, good for a fifth-place finish in their division. After winning their first round playoff matchup in three games over the Carleton Ravens, they faced defeat by the McGill Redmen in the next round.
“We had a decently young team, but together I think we showed a lot of resilience and we kept a good work ethic through the whole year,” said Sweeney. “We won games based on everyone’s hard work and sticking to our game plan.”
Sweeney thinks that the Gee-Gees need to regroup and get better as a unit next season. “We’ll need to learn and build on for the future, if we want to have a deeper playoff run.”
After a summer of training, the Gees’ next season will kick off again in October, with the schedule yet to be announced.
