FH: Victoria's Anna Mollenhauer named CW Player of the Year

Mollenhauer first Vike to win award since 2005

EDMONTON – Second-year Victoria defender Anna Mollenhauer is the Canada West Field Hockey Player of the Year, becoming the eighth Vike overall and first since 2005 to claim the award. 

The conference awards were unveiled Sunday, following the final CW regular season game of 2018, which saw the UBC Thunderbirds win 1-0 over the Calgary Dinos.

Highlights:

  • Victoria defender Anna Mollenhauer has been named the 2018 Canada West Player of the Year
  • Victoria Vikes midfielder Anne-Sophie Hannes (Rookie of the Year) and Calgary’s Michelle Patterson (Outstanding Contributor), Peter Taylor (Coach of the Year) and Ingrid Ulrich (Goalkeeper of the Year) earned major awards
  • Four Thunderbirds, four Vikes and three Calgary Dinos earned All-Star honours, as the Canada West season concluded on Sunday

 Victoria midfielder Anne-Sophie Hannes was named the conference’s top rookie, while the Calgary Dinos earned three major awards. Coach Peter Taylor was named Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, while fifth-year midfielder Michelle Patterson was named the Gail Wilson Award winner as the Most Outstanding Contributor, and third-year transfer Ingrid Ulrich was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Saskatchewan native Tyler Klenk was named Umpire of the Year for the fourth time.

The Canada West All-Star list was comprised of four Vikes, four Thunderbirds and three Dinos. All three goalkeepers of each team were named to the list including Victoria’s Robin Fleming, UBC’s Rowan Harris and Calgary’s Ulrich. The Vikes also had defender Emily Wong, Mollenhauer and Hannes on the list, while the T-Birds had forward Abbey MacLellan, midfielder Margaret Pham and defender Sara Goodman. Calgary’s Sabrina Wong and Marion Arnott rounded out the all-star team.

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Liz Hoffman Award nominee): Anna Mollenhauer

  • Victoria Vikes
  • Defender
  • 2nd-Year
  • Victoria, B.C.
  • Education

Stats: 560 minutes played / 8 GP / 1 goal 

Second-year defender Anna Mollenhauer becomes just the eighth Vikes player to be named Player of the Year and only the second-ever Vike to win Player of the Year in the year following being named Canada West Rookie of the Year. The Canadian junior national team stand out was exceptional all season, executing key roles on both offensive and defensive penalty corners. In just her second year of play she was named a co-captain of the team and played every minute of every game this season. Mollenhauer was a stalwart on defence, making key tackles, stopping shots, creating dangerous counter-attacks, and displaying exceptional out-letting skills from the Vikes backfield. Mollenhauer was the only player in the league with a 45-yard aerial that allowed the Vikes to consistently clear out of their end, while the Education major’s work ethic and leadership on and off the field has made her a valuable teammate this season. ​ 

 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Anne-Sophie Hannes

  • Victoria Vikes
  • Midfield
  • 1st-Year
  • Cologne, Germany
  • Business Administration

Stats: 8 GP / 8 GS

First-year Victoria midfielder Anne-Sophie Hannes was a key addition to the Vikes lineup in 2018. An exchange student from Germany, a country well-known for its success in international hockey and competitive club structure, Hannes’ international experience was evident right from her first game. Despite not getting on the scoreboard, Hannes was a regular starter in all eight games and showed her versatility both on the outside and in central midfield. Hannes’ technical skills were superior, often maintaining possession or trapping difficult passes under incredible pressure, while her ability to turn on attack at speed made her an unpredictable part of the Vikes offence. Defensively, Hannes was the loudest player on the field despite English being her second language. Hannes is the only rookie to make the 2018 Canada West All-Star team.

 

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR: Ingrid Ulrich

  • Calgary Dinos
  • Goalkeeper
  • 3rd-Year
  • Calgary, Alta.
  • Arts 

Stats: 560 MP / 3.17 GAA 

The 2018 season was a milestone season for the Calgary Dinos, who had been on the search for their first point since 2012. That point came on Sept. 30 as third-year Dinos transfer Ingrid Ulrich backstopped her Dinos to an impressive 2-2 draw against the seven-time defending U SPORTS National Champions, the UBC Thunderbirds. All season the Dinos continued to get better and it was Ulrich who gave them that room to grow. Ulrich transferred to Calgary after competing for the varsity field hockey program at Saint Francis University, an Atlantic 10 Conference team in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Following the draw at UBC, Ulrich was again outstanding in the Vikes home series where the Dinos dominated a game that ended in another 2-2 draw. In that matchup, Ulrich denied seven Vikes penalty corner opportunities and a penalty stroke to preserve the tie. Off the field, Ulrich is a committed student of the game putting in hours on her own technical training, along with work with the strength and conditioning coaches. Her voice organizes the young Dinos squad, while her work ethic, positive attitude and competitiveness were on display in every game this season.

 

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTOR (Gail Wilson Award nominee): Michelle Patterson

  • Calgary Dinos
  • Midfield
  • 5th-Year
  • Calgary, Alta.
  • Graduate Studies 

Senior Calgary midfielder Michelle Patterson has displayed the qualities of the Gail Wilson Award in all five of her season with the Dinos. Her respect towards her teammates, the Alumni board, coaching staff, university members, and the community are always noticed. In addition to being a leader on the field as a starter and pivotal midfield player, Patterson is the driving force behind the Dinos field hockey team’s involvement with the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Through Patterson’s leadership, the team has regularly been to the hospital to interact with the patients, including playing sports, having conversations and just bringing enjoyment to the children. Patterson is always one of the first to volunteer to help out for any requests that come to the team. Patterson is an exceptional teammate, providing support and encouragement to the team when needed and offering guidance to her team mates where needed including helping with their studies. As an assistant captain, Patterson has been heavily involved in the operations of the team from arranging team gear, to organizing fundraising activities, and social events to bring the team closer. She is a key link between the players and the coaching staff and has always been the one to be a voice for the girls. A 2017-18 Academic All-Canadian, Patterson continues to excel and challenge herself as a student, as an athlete and as a person.

 ​ 

COACH OF THE YEAR (Marina Van Der Merwe Award nominee): Peter Taylor

  • Calgary Dinos
  • 4th-season 

For the second-straight season Calgary Dinos head coach Peter Taylor is the Canada West Coach of the Year. Taylor’s work over the last three seasons proved itself heavily this season, forcing a tie out of each of the UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes, two teams that jave combined for 30 national championships, while the Dinos have made it to the national finals just once before. The two ties earned this season were well-deserved, well-earned and because of an impressive display of team work and focused structure. This season the Dinos gained incredible experience in a pre-season trip to Toronto and their renewed level of play showed in their opening weekend and continued to build over the season. The Dinos coaching team have clearly instilled a philosophy of work ethic, structure, a never-give-up mentality, and team work that have directly translated into their quality play on the field.

 

UMPIRE OF THE YEAR: Tyler Klenk

  • Regina, Sask. 

Saskatchewan native Tyler Klenk has come in to the 2018 Canada West field hockey season with more international experience than any other Canadian official. Klenk relocated to Vancouver to be able to focus on his umpiring, dedicating his time to not only training the next generation of umpires, but also applying his skills to the top league in the country, the Vancouver Premier League. Internationally Klenk has been busy throughout 2018 after umpiring at a 5 Nations Tournament in Spain in the winter, umpiring and being a video umpire at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in the spring, and then officiating at the Canada vs China men’s series in West Vancouver in July. Klenk brings incredible experience and professionalism to the Canada West season, while his insights and judgements from his background as a former junior national team player continue to make him a true player’s umpire. Klenk is one of 27 men named to the International Hockey Federation’s Elite Panel of umpires and is the only Canadian on that list.

 

2018 CANADA WEST FIELD HOCKEY ALL-STARS

Position / Name / University / Eligibility / Hometown / Program 

D / Marion Arnott / Calgary Dinos / 5 / ​ West Vancouver, B.C. / Arts

G / Robin Fleming / Victoria Vikes / 2 / Duncan, B.C. / Humanities

D / Sara Goodman / UBC Thunderbirds / 2 / Duncan, B.C. / ​ Arts

M / Anne-Sophie Hannes / Victoria Vikes / 1 / Cologne, Germany / Business Administration

G / Rowan Harris / UBC Thunderbirds / 5 / Science

F / Abbey MacLellan / UBC Thunderbirds / 3 / Science

D / Anna Mollenhauer / Victoria Vikes / 2 / Education

M / Margaret Pham / UBC Thunderbirds / 3 / Kinesiology

G / Ingrid Ulrich / Calgary Dinos / 3 / Calgary, Alta. / Arts

D / Emily Wong / Victoria Vikes / 3 / Vancouver, B.C. / Education

M / Sabrina Wong / Calgary Dinos / 4/ West Vancouver, B.C. / Medicine

- Release courtesy Ali Baggott for Canada West.

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Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships.

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