Four Women's Ice Hockey Players Garner AHCA All-America Honors
Courtesy AHCA
ST. PETER, Minn. – A total of four NESCAC women's ice hockey players have earned American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America honors, it was announced on Thursday. Trinity senior goaltender Isabel Iwachiw and Amherst junior defender Randi Zukas were chosen by the nation's coaches on the First Team, while Bantam junior blue liner Laura Komarek and Middlebury junior forward Anna McNally were selected as part of the Second Team.
The first player from Trinity to ever win NESCAC Player of the Year, Iwachiw played in 25 games this season, compiling a personal record of 18-5-2 with a 1.22 goals against average and a save percentage of .957. The 2010 national player of the year, Iwachiw also earned First Team All-America honors for the second time in her career (2008), and earlier this year received All-NESCAC First Team recognition for the second time. Her career statistics are an impressive 1.75 GAA in 81 games, with a .938 save percentage. Her career won-lost record is 48-25-8.
An All-NESCAC First Team selection in 2010 and a two-time Second Team member in the previous two years, Zukas is in the midst of her best year in points production, registering six goals and 20 assists for 26 points through 25 appearances for the Jeffs. Amherst’s third leading scorer heads into this weekend’s national semifinals looking to help her squad repeat as national champions.
The top blue-liner in the conference in both points (31) and power-play points (19), Komarek enjoyed a career year on the ice with a league-leading 26 assists along with five goals. Four of Komarek’s five tallies have come while the Bantams have been on the power play, as she was part of a extra attacker unit that ranked third in the conference with a 23.3 percent conversion rate. Twice this winter she netted four points - an individual high for her - with a one-goal, three-assist performance in a win over Colby on Jan. 23 as part of a nine-game scoring streak, followed by four assists in a victory against Nichols on Feb. 6. As impressive as her offense has been, Komarek also bolstered the conference’s best defense, as the Bantams surrendered only 33 goals in 28 games, a 1.18 average.
McNally finished her season as the conference leader in scoring with 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points, matching the 37 she recorded in her first year with the Panthers. McNally played a part in all of Middlebury’s goals during a 5-0 victory at Colby on Nov. 29, scoring two and helping out on the other three. She was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year and earned First Team honors in 2008 before returning to the First Team this year.
