Top five finalists named
for Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie
of the Year Award
The puck stops here.
It’s time to announce the five finalists for the 2010 Let’s Play
Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year Award for girls’ high school hockey
players.
The winner will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the
Ms. Hockey Awards Banquet at the St. Paul RiverCentre,
the day after the conclusion of the girls’ high school tournament.
Alphabetically, here are the five
finalists for the 2010 Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year
Award:
Kallie Billadeau, Hopkins
A mainstay in the
On the season, Billadeau
has allowed two or fewer goals in 19 of her 23 starts and owns a
“Kallie is a
wonderful goaltender and even a better person,”
Away from the ice, Billadeau
gives her time with the Hopkins Youth Hockey Association, assisting young
girls’ hockey players during summer programs. She has also been involved with a
program that purchases, prepares and serves meals to the homeless. Billadeau owns a 3.77 GPA and will be playing her college
hockey this fall at
Michelle Bonapace-Potvin,
Just two short years after starting
hockey and jumping into goalie gear as a seventh-grader, Michelle Bonapace-Potvin grabbed the starting goaltender position at
Rochester John Marshall/Lourdes, a position she has held ever since.
Facing nearly 30 shots per game for the
“In addition to being one of the most coachable athletes I’ve ever worked with, Michelle’s
dedication, commitment and focus on becoming the best goalie and best all-around
person is admirable,” Rockets assistant coach Becky Chapel said. “She genuinely
strives to excel at everything she does and her positive energy in contagious.
The best part about Michelle is that she is firecely
intense in net, but is equally excitable, outgoing, charismatic and sociable
off the ice.”
Off the ice, Bonapace-Potvin
is involved with a multitude of activities, including her role as President of
the Lourdes HS Cultural Exchange Club, the co-President of the Arts Club and
the planner/executer for fundraising for the Catholic Charities Refugee
Resettlement.
Originally from Canada and fluent in
French, Bonapace-Potvin sings the U.S. National
Anthem before each Rocket home game. Bonapace-Potvin
owns a 4.175 GPA and will attend
Caitie Morris,
Caitie Morris has split time in the nets with sophomore Maddie Dahl this season, giving the Hornets one of the state’s
best goaltending tandems. Though this is Morris’ first season on the varsity
team, her numbers look like that of a seasoned veteran. Through the end of the
regular season, she owns a
On the season, Morris has only once
allowed more than two goals in a game, and has given up only five lamplighters
in her last eight games, two of which were shutouts. The Hornets own the No. 3
ranking in Class AA with a
“Caitie is a
tremendous goalie and has been a rock for us in net all season,”
A member of the “A” Honor Roll since
seventh grade and the owner of a 3.85 GPA, Morris lettered in community service
and volunteers at Elder’s
Kaitlyn Rolando, Tartan
Kaitlyn Rolando has been the backbone of a Tartan team that has
struggled to a
Rolando has held her opponent to two
goals or less 11 times on the year. She has played in all but two of Tartan’s
games this season, and has had only four games with a save percentage under
.900 this year.
“Kaitlyn has by
far the best and hardest work ethic that I have been associated with in my
years of coaching,” Tartan coach Jeff Lanz said. “She
has the ability to change the face and outcome of the game. Her ability and
focus have made her one of the hardest goalies to score on in the state. Kaitlym has been a team leader and has gained respect from
her teammates, as well as her peers on other teams.”
Away from the ice, Rolando ranks first in
her Tartan class of 430 with a 4.1833 GPA. She is a three-year member of the
National Honor Society and has been active in Tartan’s LinkCrew
Freshman Mentor Program. Rolando has also been a four-year participant in
Tartan’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
Rolando plans to continue her hockey and
academic career at the
Marah Sobczak,
For the better part of six seasons, it’s
been Marah Sobczak in the
nets for the Stillwater Ponies. Since seventh grade, she has patrolled the
crease, racking up nearly 100 career wins as one of the state’s top netminders. This season, Sobczak
owns a
Sobczak is a six-year letterwinner and
helped
“Marah’s
outstanding work ethic and determination have been a
huge key to our team’s success of the last six seasons,”
A three-year academic letterwinner
and the owner of a 3.8 GPA, Sobczak has volunteered
her time with Meals on Wheels and Feed My Starving Children. She is also a member
of the 2009-10 Student Council and Psychology Club. Sobczak
plans on attending college to pursue a career in civil engineering, and play
college hockey.
In addition to announcing the Senior Goalie of the
Year, the winner of the 2010 Ms. Hockey award will be named at the Ms. Hockey
Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 28 at RiverCentre.
Additionally, all-state and all-academic awards will be presented by the
Minnesota Girls’ Hockey Coaches Association. The five finalists for Ms. Hockey
will be announced in next week’s edition of Let’s Play Hockey. Both awards are sponsored by Let’s Play
Hockey, the Minnesota Wild, Fox Sports North and Reebok/CCM. Ann Carroll of
Fox Sports North will serve as the emcee for the Ms. Hockey Awards Banquet.
In addition to on-ice talent, criteria for the Senior Goalie
of the Year Award include academics, community/extracurricular activities,
citizenship and coachability.
The 2009 Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year
Award winner was Laura Bellamy of
For more information or to order
tickets ($25) to the Ms. Hockey Awards Banquet, call Let’s Play Hockey
at 612-729-0023.