March 19, 2004

Seven Providence College women's ice hockey players were awarded HOCKEY EAST honors on Friday, March 19 at the league luncheon.

Seniors Kelli Halcisak (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Darlene Stephenson (Virden, Manitoba) and junior Rush Zimmerman (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) were named Second Team All-Stars. Senior Meredith Roth (Dubuque, Iowa), junior Ashley Payton (Chesterfield, Mo.) and sophomore Karen Thatcher (Douglas, Mass.) earned honorable mentions. Thatcher also earned the HOCKEY EAST Sportsmanship Award, while freshman Sonny Watrous (Albuquerque, N.M.) was named Rookie of the Year and earned All-Rookie team honors.

Earning Second Team All-Star honors was Halcisak who led the team and was second among defenders in the nation in scoring (18-26-44) and record 10 goals and 18 assists for a total of 28 points in league play. Stephenson finished third on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points overall and tallied 26 points (four goals, 22 assists) in league action. Zimmerman, who was twice name HOCKEY EAST Player of the Week, was the team's second leading scorer overall with 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points, while collecting 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points, ranking her third in HOCKEY EAST action.

Earning Honorable Mention were Roth, Payton and Thatcher. Roth was seventh on the team in scoring with six goals and 14 assists for 20 points, while earning five goals and 10 assists in league play and providing a steadying influence on the ice. Payton, who played in only 25 games overall and 16 games in conference this season, tallied 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) overall and 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in league play. Thatcher finished sixth on the team in scoring with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points overall. She earned five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in league play with two penalty minutes earning the league Sportsmanship Award as well as her Honorable Mention honors.

Earning Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team honors was Watrous who was tied for fourth on the team in overall scoring with 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) and recorded 14 goals and 10 assists for a total of 24 points in league play. Watrous finished the season ranked seventh overall in league scoring and was named HOCKEY EAST Rookie of the Week twice, Player of the Week once, and Rookie of the Month for February.

Providence College returns to action on Saturday, March 20 at 1:00 p.m. against the University of Maine at Northeastern's Matthews Arena in the semifinal round of the Women's HOCKEY EAST Tournament.