BIDDEFORD, Maine – Shana Cote became the first Player of the Year of the Commonwealth Coast Conference on Wednesday afternoon to headline Suffolk women's hockey's haul of the league's awards that featured five all-conference players and CCC Coach of the Year Taylor Wasylk.
Maddy Burton and Madison Duff joined Cote on the first team for their exceptional seasons, while Sofia Scilipoti and Leslie Steiner earned second-team status in their first seasons on the college scene. The trio of first-team selections is the most in a single season for Suffolk, while the five all-league honorees tie the 2018-19 squad for the most in program history.
The quintet were crucial cogs in Wasylk's wheel that featured one of the most high-powered offenses in DIII. They were responsible for 58 of the team's 95 goals, which leads the league and ranks seventh nationally. The fourth-year head coach was voted by her peers as the first-ever CCC Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year after leading Suffolk to its winningest season with a 19-5-0 overall record. It is the second time Wasylk was honored as a league's coach of the year, first since Suffolk's inaugural season in 2018-19.
Cote, who was the program's first rookie of the year back in 2018-19, added another impressive notch to her award shelf as the conference's best player, another first for Suffolk's young program. The forward has undoubtedly been the most lethal scoring threat in a blue-and-gold sweater as she sits atop every offensive category in the conference with 22 goals and 19 assists for 42 points. Not only is she a standout on the league level, but has made her name known nationally as the senior captain appears on the national leaderboard in power play goals (8), sits third in game-winning goals (6), lands fourth in goals per game (0.96) and has the seventh-most faceoff wins (290) and points per game (1.75) in Division III. Her name is also scattered across the top-25 in every other offensive statistical group.
The Broomfield, Colorado, native has written and rewritten the Rams record books this season as she is the single-season leader in goals (22), assists (19), game-winning goals (6) and power play goals (8). She enters the CCC postseason just six points shy of the coveted 100-point mark and as the most decorated Ram in program history with five all-league accolades. On top of her pair of recognitions this season, her resume includes 2018-19 NEHC Rookie of the Year, two All-NEHC and one All-Rookie team nods.
Burton found her way on the first team for the first time in her career after recording 28 points on 17 goals and 11 assists. The Aurora, Illinois local sits second in the league in scoring and third in points. The fifth-year forward's experience has paid off for Suffolk this season as she has recorded at least one point in 83.3 percent (20-24) of the Rams' 24 games with a pair of game winners. The all-league accolade is the second of her career as she picked up a spot on the NEHC second-team in 2019-20.
Duff, who hails from Novi, Michigan made history of her own as the first Suffolk blue liner on an all-league first team. The distinction, the senior captain's third career all-conference nod, comes on the heels of a senior season in which she was the top scoring defenseman with 21 points divided down to four goals and 17 helpers.
Scilipoti secured a spot on the second team after putting together a junior campaign of 12 goals and 17 helpers for the second-most points in the conference (29). Steiner, meanwhile, a first-year from Toronto, Ontario was one of the top four defenseman in the league with 15 points on three goals and a dozen assists.
In its short history, Suffolk has collected 17 all-league accolades: one player of the year, one rookie of the year, four first-team honors, five second-team selections, a pair of third-team picks and four all-rookie team members.
With the regular-season wrapped up, Suffolk now turns its attention to the CCC postseason where the second-seeded Rams entertain seventh-seed Curry in the quarterfinals tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.
2022 CCC WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY ALL-CCC TEAM
MAJOR AWARDS
Player of the Year- Shana Cote, Suffolk
Goaltender of the Year - Michaela O'Brien, Endicott
Rookie of the Year - Samantha Fantasia, Endicott
CCC Scholar-Athlete - Courtney Sullivan, Endicott
Coach of the Year - Taylor Wasylk, Suffolk
Team Sportsmanship - University of New England
FIRST TEAM ALL-CCC
F - Maddy Burton, Suffolk
F - Shana Cote, Suffolk
F - Courtney Sullivan, Endicott
D - Madison Duff, Suffolk
D - Alicia Hunks, Nichols
G - Michaela O'Brien, Endicott
SECOND TEAM ALL-CCC
F - Tabitha Franceschini, Endicott
F - Grayson Goolgasian, Curry
F - Jacy Kuhlman, Endicott
F - Sofia Scilipoti, Suffolk
D - Jess Burwell, Endicott
D - Leslie Steiner, Suffolk
G - Victoria Bakopanos, Nichols