The WCHA women’s conference announced Wednesday its individual award winners for the 2019-20 season.
“Congratulations to this fantastic group of honorees,” said WCHA women’s commissioner Jennifer Flowers in a statement. “They are all well-deserving recipients who are being recognized for their outstanding accomplishments on and off the ice this season. The WCHA is the proud home to many incredible student-athletes and coaches and we’re proud to celebrate this special group with these accolades today.”
Wisconsin senior forward Abby Roque is the WCHA Offensive Player of the Year.
A top three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, Roque has potted 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points. In all games this season, she ranks seventh nationally in point scoring with 57 from 25 goals and 32 helpers.
The WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is Ohio State redshirt senior Jincy Dunne, who has tallied 28 points on seven goals and 21 assists in her senior campaign, tying for second in the league among defensemen and giving her a new career-high for goals scored in a single season.
Minnesota senior Sydney Scobee has been named the WCHA Goaltender of the Year and Goaltending Champion.
Scobee earns both honors after leading the WCHA with a .930 save percentage, a 1.61 GAA and 26 wins during her senior season. She has tallied eight shutouts, which is the third most in the nation. She boasts the fourth-best win percentage of any netminder in the NCAA at .809 and has made 732 saves on 787 shots.
WCHA Rookie of the Year honors go to Minnesota freshman Madeline Wethington.
Wethington has added increased stability to the Minnesota defense in her first season as a Golden Gopher. She has contributed to the best scoring defense in the league and the fifth-best in the nation, scoring six goals and adding nine assists for a WCHA rookie defensemen-leading 15 points. The freshman blueliner boasts the best plus/minus rating of any league rookie at plus-20 and has scoring the most game-winning goals of any newcomer at four. She has also registered 37 blocked shots, ranking second among WCHA freshmen.
The WCHA Student Athlete of the Year award goes to Minnesota senior forward Alex Woken.
A 2019-20 alternate captain for the Golden Gophers, Woken is a senior neuroscience major with a 3.70 cumulative GPA and is on track to graduate this spring. Woken is a two-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete and WCHA All-Academic Team honoree who does directive research in Dr. Sylvain Lesné’s laboratory, conducting research on Alzheimer’s disease.
Woken has volunteered with the St. Paul Animal Humane Society as a dog walker in addition to volunteering her time with Feed My Starving Children, Special Olympics Minnesota, Hockey Limited, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, Gopher Experience Summer Camp and Skate with the Gophers.
She is a three-year recipient of the Kathleen C. Ridder Scholarship and plans to continue her education to become a veterinarian.
On the ice, Woken has had a career-best season in 2019-20. She has already reached career highs in points (29), goals (14) and assists (15).
Ohio State’s Nadine Muzerall has been selected the WCHA Coach of the Year.
In her fourth season with the Buckeyes, Muzerall has led Ohio State to a 20-8-6 record (13-6-5-2 WCHA), a No. 5 national ranking and a berth in this weekend’s Final Faceoff semifinals. Her Ohio State team has faced the most difficult schedule in the nation this season and has emerged victorious in eight contests against top-10 opponents.
Wisconsin junior forward Daryl Watts, with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists) in 26 league games, is the WCHA Scoring Champion.
In her first season with the Badgers, Watts led the WCHA in assists per game at 1.46 and points per game at 2.04 as well as power-play points in league games with 13.
In all contests, she leads the nation in points with 73 on 24 goals and 49 assists. She is the only player in the nation to average two or more points per game with her 2.15.
