(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2023-24 AUS men's hockey major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference's seven head coaches following regular season play.
Third-year UNB forward Austen Keating (Guelph, Ont.) has been chosen as the AUS Most Valuable Player.
Other AUS men鈥檚 hockey major award winners announced today were AV俱乐部鈥檚 Alec B茅langer (Quebec City, Que.) who earned both Rookie of the Year and Student-Athlete and Community Service honours; UNB鈥檚 Brady Gilmour (Grafton, Ont.) who was named Most Sportsmanlike Player; and UNB鈥檚 Gardiner McDougall, who was named AUS Men鈥檚 Hockey Coach of the Year.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (A.J. MacAdam Trophy): Alec B茅langer, AV俱乐部 Tigers
The AUS Rookie of the Year and recipient of the A.J. MacAdam Trophy for the 2023-24 season is AV俱乐部 Tigers forward, Alec B茅langer.
The Kinesiology student from Quebec City, Que., had an exceptional first season in the AUS, finishing fifth in the league in goals scored (16). He added seven assists to give himself 23 points in 25 games played. In addition to this honour, B茅langer was also selected to the 2024 AUS All-Rookie Team. AV俱乐部 finished the regular season at 7-21-2-0 and out of the playoffs.
Prior to beginning his AUS career, B茅langer played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Ottawa 67鈥檚 and Kingston Frontenacs.聽
B茅langer is the first Tigers player to earn conference Rookie of the Year honours since Phil Gadoury did so back in the 2015-16 season. B茅langer now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the Clare Drake Award for U SPORTS rookie of the year.
AUS players have earned the national honour the last five consecutive seasons 鈥� UNB鈥檚 Samuel Richard in 2022-23, STFX鈥檚 Liam Hawel in 2021-22, Saint Mary鈥檚 Mitchell Balmas in 2019-20, Moncton's 脡tienne Monpetit in 2018-19 and UNB's Kris Bennett in 2017-18.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (The Godfrey Award):鈥�Alec B茅langer, AV俱乐部 Tigers
The 2023-24 recipient of the Godfrey Award for the Student-Athlete Community Service and AUS nominee for the prestigious Dr. Randy Gregg Award is Alec B茅langer from the AV俱乐部 Tigers.
Named for Dr. Bill Godfrey, this award is given annually to the player who best represents the spirit of intercollegiate hockey by his leadership both on and off the ice and by his conduct throughout the season.
A Kinesiology student from Quebec City, Que., B茅langer led the Tigers in points (23) and goals (16) in just 25 games played. Off the ice he earned a 3.4 GPA in the fall semester and is trending towards his first Academic All-Canadian honour.
Away from the rink and classroom, B茅langer is the Co-Chair and acting lead executive for Extra Awesome 鈥� AV俱乐部, a student-run volunteer-based program that offers academic support and facilitates physical activity participation for Halifax youth with Down Syndrome and their siblings.
B茅langer started the program during the fall semester and has seen it grow to include more than 40 student volunteers and 25 participants. Due to its positive impact and the attention it has received, B茅langer was invited to attend dinner with AV俱乐部 President, Kim Brooks.
鈥淎lec has not only had a tremendous impact on our athletic program, but within the entire AV俱乐部 campus,鈥� said Tim Maloney, AV俱乐部 Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation. 鈥淗e embodies the essence of this award.鈥�
B茅langer becomes the first AV俱乐部 player to win this award since Chris Stanley did so exactly 20 years ago in 2003-04.
Full AUS Release
2023-24 AUS ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
First Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Thomas Couture, Acadia (1st year 鈥� L茅vis, Que.)
Defence: Kale McCallum, UNB (2nd year 鈥� Rothesay, N.B.)
Defence: Jacob Dion, Universit茅 de Moncton (2nd year 鈥� Sherbrooke, Que.)
Forward: Austen Keating, UNB (3rd year 鈥� Guelph, Ont.)
Forward: Brady Gilmour, UNB (4th year 鈥� Grafton, Ont.)
Forward: Matthew Struthers, STFX (3rd year 鈥� Milton, Ont.)
Second Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Jonah Capriotti, UPEI (5th year 鈥� Charlottetown, P.E.I.)
Defence: Adam McCormick, UNB (3rd year 鈥� Waterville, N.B.)
Defence: Kade Landry, UNB (3rd year 鈥� Gowanstown, Ont.)
Forward: Kaleb Pearson, UPEI (3rd year 鈥� St. Marys, Ont.)
Forward: Jacob Hudson, STFX (3rd year 鈥� Antigonish, N.S.)
Forward: J茅r茅my Michel, Universit茅 de Moncton (2nd year 鈥� L茅vis, Que.)
All-Rookie Team
Goaltender: Thomas Couture, Acadia (L茅vis, Que.)
Defence: Charlie Callaghan, STFX (Toronto, Ont.)
Defence: Marc-Antoine Mercier, Universit茅 de Moncton (Forestville, Que.)
Forward: Jeremy Lapointe, Universit茅 de Moncton (Drummondville, Que.)
Forward: Alec B茅langer, AV俱乐部 (Quebec City, Que)
Forward: Sean McGurn, UNB (Ottawa, Ont.)