Feature Story
Top five Senior Goalie of the Year finalists
picked
The
puck stops here. It’s time to announce
the five finalists for the 2007 Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the
Year Award for girls’ high school hockey players.
The
winner will be announced in the Feb. 22 edition of Let’s Play Hockey and
will be honored at the Ms. Hockey banquet on Sunday, Feb. 25 at RiverCentre, the day after the girls’ high school hockey
tournament.
Alphabetically,
here are the five finalists for the Senior Goalie of the Year Award:
Renee
Brasuhn, Irondale — A
mainstay in the Irondale twine since the beginning of her freshman year, the
senior and four-year starter completed the regular season with a
A
two-year captain, Brasuhn has been team MVP the past
three seasons and has been All Conference the past two seasons.
“She
has been the difference between winning and losing in most of our games this year,”
said head coach Tom Rodefeld. She plans on attending a four-year college
next season, majoring in education and playing hockey.
Kristen
Elliott, Eden Prairie — Heading into post-season play, Eden Prairie has gone
unbeaten in two straight seasons, due largely to superb goaltending. Elliott
enters the playoffs with a 12-0 record, a splendid 1.15 goals-against average
and a .918 save percentage, helped by five shutouts. A four-year starter,
Elliott has a brilliant career record of 62-4 along with 24 shutouts and a career 1.21 goals-against average.
Winning
is part of her fabric. State hockey champs last year in Class AA and
third-place the year before, Elliott has also helped the
Ashley
Nixon, Blaine — Following in the footsteps of her
older sister Sammy who was a former Ms. Hockey finalist, Nixon has made a name
for herself as one of the state’s premiere goaltenders. This season, she has
posted a
A
two-year team captain and reigning First-Team All-State goalie, Nixon will be
attending
“Ashley
gives our team a chance to win every time we step on the ice. We typically give
up some very quality scoring chances and she is usually there to bail us out,”
commented head coach Steve Guider.
Nixon
is very active in the community helping with the teddy bear toss fund raiser,
assisting needy families, baby sitting for military families and volunteering
in the school’s science labs.
Savannah
Osborn,
Off-ice
activities are centered around helping with youth
hockey players. She plans on attending college and playing hockey and has
received strong interest from several Division I and Division III
colleges.
Paige
Thunder, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton — Thunderous applause
greeted Thunder on numerous occasions this past season as Cloquet’s
all-everything goalie sported some impressive numbers, led by a 16-6-3 overall
record, a .931 save percentage and a 1.57 goals-against average with three
shutouts. Thunder helped the lady
Lumberjacks to a third-place finish at the Class AA state tourney last season,
making the All-Tourney team in the process.
When
not stopping pucks, Thunder volunteers with the youth hockey program, is a
member of the school yearbook committee and is a teacher’s assistant at a local
elementary school. She plans on attending college next season and continuing
her hockey career.
After
the announcement of the Senior Goalie of the Year on Feb. 22, the winner, along
with the top five candidates for Ms. Hockey 2007, will be honored at a banquet
Sunday, Feb. 25 at RiverCentre. Additionally,
all-state and all-academic awards will be presented by the Minnesota Girls’
Hockey Coaches Association.
Tickets
for the banquet may be ordered by calling 612-729-0023 and are $25 per
person. Complimentary tickets are
provided for the five Ms. Hockey candidates and Senior Goalie of the Year
winner only.