LeBlanc wins U SPORTS Marion Hillard Award for Student-Athlete Community Service, Demale named Second Team All-Canadian

Saint Mary's Huskies defender Eve LeBlanc has been named the winner of the 2023 Marion Hillard Award for Student-Athlete Community Service in U SPORTS Women's Hockey.

The announcement was made on Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Awards Ceremony in Montréal, QC, host city of the 2023 U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship.

A fourth-year psychology student from Petit-Rocher, N.B., LeBlanc played in 26 games for the Huskies during the 2022-23 regular season, recording one goal, 11 assists and a +12 plus/minus rating. A two-way defender, she led the team with an average of 23.15 minutes on the ice per game.

During all four seasons in the AUS, LeBlanc has earned Academic All-Canadian standing, currently sitting at a perfect 4.3 GPA for the 2022-23 academic year. She was the 2021 and 2023 recipient of the Student Leadership Recognition Award for Saint Mary's and has been named to the Faculty of Science's Dean's List three times.

LeBlanc is also a force in the community. For the past four years, she has been a volunteer with Ronald McDonald House Charities, providing families in need with warm meals and activities. She's also served as a program assistant for Chebucto Connections: Pathways to Education after school program, working with marginalized students. This year, LeBlanc also leant her time as a co-facilitator of a mental health series for Saint Mary's faculty and staff.

"Having just been accepted into UNB's doctorate program of clinical psychology, where the acceptance rate is 2% of all applicants, Eve is once again proving to herself and everyone that hard work always pays off," says Saint Mary's Huskies' head coach, Chris Larade. "She has been the absolute epitome of what this award stands for, as well as what all coaches aim to recruit to their U SPORT programs."

LeBlanc is the first Huskies women's hockey player to receive the Marion Hilliard Award. The last AUS student-athlete to take home the national honour was UNB's Jana Headrick (2021-22).

LeBlanc's win, combined with that of fellow Husky Matt Welsh earlier on Wednesday, marks the first time that one school has swept both student-athlete community service awards in hockey.

LeBlanc was nominated for the Marion Hillard Award by winning the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award. Other nominees for the national award were: Christina Colizza (McGill), Olivia Giardetti (Toronto Metropolitan) and Tatum Amy (Mount Royal).

Shae Demale named Second Team All-Canadian

Huskies forward Shae Demale was also honoured on Wednesday night, being named a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian.

A fourth year forward from Red Deer, Alberta, Demale finished the 2022-23 AUS regular season with 19 goals and 34 points, ranking second in the conference in both categories. Demale's 19 goals ranked third in U SPORTS, while her 34 points tied for fourth in the country.

It is the second straight season Demale was named an All-Canadian, following her First Team All-Canadian selection in 2021-22. For her career, Demale has been selected as an All-Canadian twice, an AUS All-Star four times, and the AUS Most Valuable Player in 2021-22. 

The biology major passed career milestones of 50 goals and 100 points this season, finishing her four-year career with 56 goals and 109 points in 101 regular season games, and adding 10 goals and 16 points in 19 career playoff games.

In January, Demale won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2023 FISU World University Games, finishing second on the team in both goals (five) and points (10).

Academically, Demale was named a 2021-22 U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian, becoming the first female athlete in Saint Mary's history to be selected for this prestigious honour. Demale is a four-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian, and registered a perfect 4.30 GPA in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.