Ashley Penney wins AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award; MacKenzie and Shearer honoured with AUS Awards

The 2024-25 Atlantic University Sport women's hockey awards were announced on Monday, with several members of the Saint Mary's Huskies being honoured among the league's best.

AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Ashley Penney

Huskies captain Ashley Penney was awarded the Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her academic, athletic and community contributions. 

A fourth-year biology honours student from Lawrencetown, N.S., Penney played in 25 games for the Huskies during the 2024-25 regular season, scoring seven points with two goals and five assists.

In the classroom, Penney boasts a 4.27 cumulative GPA and has been named an Academic All-Canadian in every year of study. She is the recipient of the Saint Mary's University Faculty Union Scholarship, which is awarded to a student for high academic achievement, as well as the Bob Warner Scholarship, awarded to a varsity athlete that demonstrates both academic and athletic excellence.

Active in the community both on and off campus, Penney has volunteered her time with such initiatives as the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Shelter Movers Halifax and motionball for Special Olympics.

Penney is the eighth player from the Huskies to receive this award since its inception in 2002-03. She will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Marion Hilliard Award. The only Saint Mary's player to earn the national honour was Eve LeBlanc in 2022-23. 

AUS Second Team All-Star: Abigail MacKenzie

Huskies defender Abigail MacKenzie (Stellarton, NS) was named a Second Team AUS All-Star. The third year defender recorded nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 25 games played, with a +10 plus/minus rating. This is MacKenzie's second straight all-star selection, as she was named an AUS First Team All-Star in 2023-24.

AUS All-Rookie Team: Ava Shearer

Huskies forward Ava Shearer (Windsor, NS) was named to the AUS All-Rookie Team. Shearer appeared in all 28 games for the Huskies this season, recording 12 points (six goals, six assists), including two game-winning goals.

Full release: 2024-25 AUS women's hockey major awards and all-stars announced 

Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2024-25 AUS women's hockey all-stars and major award winners, as selected by the conference's eight head coaches.

Third-year Dalhousie goaltender Grace Beer (Oakville, Ont.) was chosen as the AUS most valuable player of the season. 

Other AUS major award winners announced today were Dalhousie's Abby Larkin (Mermain, P.E.I.) who was named rookie of the year; STFX's Tea Pearce (Calgary, Alta.) who was chosen as the most sportsmanlike player; STFX's Landyn Pitts (Antigonish, N.S.), who was named the top defensive player; Saint Mary's Ashley Penney (Lawrencetown, N.S.), who was awarded student-athlete community service honours; and STFX head coach Ben Berthiaume who is the AUS women's hockey coach of the year. 

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Grace Beer, Dalhousie Tigers 

The Atlantic University Sport women's hockey most valuable player for the 2024-25 season is third-year goaltender Grace Beer of the Dalhousie Tigers.  
 
A recreation student hailing from Oakville, Ont., Beer led the conference with a save percentage of .950 this season—the third best in U SPORTS.

She played in 21 games for the Tigers this season, starting in 20 of them, and led the league in wins with 14.

Dalhousie finished the regular season with a 15-9-3-1 record and is taking on Moncton in the playoff quarterfinal round.

Beer's MVP nod marks the first time a player from the Dalhousie Tigers has ever won the top honour. She was also named an AUS First Team All-Star today.

Beer now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the Brodrick Trophy for U SPORTS player of the year. The last AUS student-athlete to be named best in the country was former UNB standout Kendra Woodland in 2022-23.  

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Abby Larkin, Dalhousie Tigers 

Abby Larkin from the Dalhousie Tigers is the AUS women's hockey rookie of the year. 
 
A first-year science student from Mermain, P.E.I., Larkin was also named to the AUS All-Rookie Team today.

She played in 27 games for the Tigers during the regular season, recording 18 points with seven goals and 11 assists.

Larkin is just the second-ever player from a Tigers lineup to be named the conference's top rookie. Former Dalhousie standout Jocelyn LeBlanc first earned the honour in 2007-08.

With this win, Larkin will be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS rookie of the year award. Past AUS winners include Abby Lewis of STFX (2021-22), Alex Normore of STFX (2010-11) and Courtney Schriver of Saint Mary's (2004-05).

MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER: Tea Pearce, STFX X-Women 

This season's Atlantic University Sport most sportsmanlike player is Tea Pearce of the STFX X-Women. This award recognizes an individual who maintains the standards of fair play and treats those around her with respect at all times. 

A second-year forward from Calgary, Alta., Pearce played in 25 games for the X-Women this season, recording 17 points with six goals and 11 assists. She did not record a penalty minute all season.

This is the second consecutive season a player from the X-Women has been named Most Sportsmanlike Player. STFX's Ireland McCloskey won the award last season.

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Landyn Pitts, STFX X-Women 

The STFX X-Women's Landyn Pitts has been named the 2024-25 AUS women's hockey top defensive player.

This award, established in 2016-17, is given annually to a skater who consistently excels in defensive aspects of the game and displays strong play in all areas of the ice individually and as part of their team's defensive tactics.

Pitts was selected as the winner of this award based on criteria such as faceoffs, blocked shots, forechecking, rush-zone defending, penalty killing and shutting down the opposition's top players. 
 
A fourth-year forward from Antigonish, N.S., Pitts scored 10 points for the X-Women this season (three goals and seven assists) despite only appearing in 14 games due to injury.

"Landyn is one of our first players we send over the boards on our penalty kill because of her shot blocking capabilities and work ethic," said STFX head coach Ben Berthiaume. "She is constantly one of our hardest working players who is able to get in on a forecheck because of her speed and work ethic. Landyn has prevented a number of scoring opportunities with her defensive ability and willingness to compete every shift."

Pitts' win marks the second time a player from STFX has been named the league's top defensive player since the award's inception in 2016-17. Former X-Women standout Lydia Schurman first earned the honour in 2019-20.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Ashley Penney, Saint Mary's Huskies

Saint Mary's forward Ashley Penney has been awarded this year's Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her academic, athletic and community contributions. 
 
A fourth-year biology honours student from Lawrencetown, N.S., Penney played in 25 games for the Huskies during the 2024-25 regular season, scoring seven points with two goals and five assists.

In the classroom, Penney boasts a 4.27 cumulative GPA and has been named an Academic All-Canadian in every year of study. She is the recipient of the Saint Mary's University Faculty Union Scholarship, which is awarded to a student for high academic achievement, as well as the Bob Warner Scholarship, awarded to a varsity athlete that demonstrates both academic and athletic excellence.

Active in the community both on and off campus, Penney has volunteered her time with such initiatives as the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Shelter Movers Halifax and motionball for Special Olympics.

Penney is the eighth player from the Huskies to receive this award since its inception in 2002-03. She will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Marion Hilliard Award. The only Saint Mary's player to earn the national honour was Eve LeBlanc in 2022-23. 

COACH OF THE YEAR: Ben Berthiaume, STFX X-Women 

In his ninth season at the helm of the STFX X-Women, Ben Berthiaume has been selected by his peers as the AUS women's hockey coach of the year.

Led by Berthiaume, STFX finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 18-5-1-4 record, earning a bye to the semi-final round of the AUS playoffs.

The X-Women led the AUS conference this season in goals (80) and goals per game (2.86), assists (126), shots (983) and shots per game (35.1), and power play goals (19).

This is Berthiaume's fourth time being named AUS coach of the year, following wins in 2022-23, 2017-18 and 2014-15.

He'll now be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. The most recent AUS winner is Saint Mary's bench boss Chris Larade, who took home the honour in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

2024-25 AUS ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM