HAMILTON, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the 2009-2010 all-stars and major award winners for women's hockey. Wilfrid Laurier University picked up two major awards, two all-stars and two all-rookie team members.

Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont.) has been named to the OUA first all-star team as well as being named the leagues' player of the year. First year Candice Styles (Orangeville, Ont.) was named to the all-rookie team and also picked up rookie of the year honours. Rounding out Laurier's award winners were team captain Andrea Ironside (Collingwood, Ont.) being named to the OUA first all-star team and Maureen Mommersteeg (St. Thomas, Ont.) being picking up an all-rookie team award.

"I'm very proud of these players who have reached their individual goals this season," said coach Rick Osborne. "From both on-ice performance and leadership, Liz Knox has been instrumental in our success this year."

Fourth year netminder Liz Knox tied Charline Labonte's CIS records' for most shutouts in a career with 30 and most shutouts in a season with 11. Labonte, a McGill Marlet, took this season off to play in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The sociology major picked up 22 wins this season posting a .960 save percentage and a 0.89 goals-against-average. This is the second time she has been named to the OUA first all-star team and her third career all-star award. This is the fourth year in a row a Laurier player has been named player of the year, with Andrea Bevan earning the award last year.

Candice Styles picked up the first two league awards of her career after scoring eight goals and picking up 12 assists in her inaugural season for the purple and gold. The first year centre showed versatility during the season, playing multiple roles when called upon. She also picked up two power play markers and three game-winning goals in 27 games played. The sociology major finished the season in fourth place in scoring at Laurier and in third place in rookie scoring in the OUA.Current assistant coach Cindy Eadie was the last Golden Hawk to win the OUA rookie of the year award in 2001-2002.

Fifth year team team captain Andrea Ironside picks up her second first team all-star award and her fourth career all-star nod. The kinesiology major led the Hawks with 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists. She currently sits in first place at Laurier in career assists with 64 and in second place in career points with 122 and goals with 58. In the 2009-10 season, Ironside picked up seven multipoint games and four game-winning goals

Maureen Mommersteeg picked up the first league award of her Laurier career for her strong play. She notched five assists and was a key contributor to the Golden Hawks' league leading penalty kill. Her strong skating and defensive awareness made her a contributor to Laurier's on-ice success this season.

The Golden Hawks open their post-season on Thursday, February 25th when they will take on the Windsor Lancers at 7:30 p.m. at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

2010 OUA WOMEN'S HOCKEY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Player of the Year: Liz Knox (Laurier)
Rookie of the Year: Candice Styles (Laurier)
Marion Hillard Award: Veronica Johnston (Western)
Coach of the Year: Matt Holmberg (Queen's)

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Becky Conroy (Pembroke, Ont.) - Queen's
Andrea Ironside (Collingwood, Ont.) - Laurier
Ellie Seedhouse (Whitby, Ont.) - Western
Defencemen
Alison Bagg (Kingston, Ont.) - Queen's
Kelsey Webster (Duncan, B.C.) - York
Goaltender
Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont.) - Laurier

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Manon Davis (Sudbury, Ont.) - Windsor
Dayna Kanis (Georgetown, Ont.) - Guelph
Liz Kench (Gananoque, Ont.) - Queen's
Defencemen
Kelly Setter (Keswick, Ont.) - Toronto
Jackie Sollis (West Vancouver, B.C.) - Guelph
Goaltender
Beth Clause (Hamilton, Ont.) - Brock

OUA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forwards
Morgan McHaffie (Guelph, Ont.) - Queen's
Jill Morillo (Whitby, Ont.) - UOIT
Candice Styles (Orangeville, Ont.) - Laurier
Defencemen
Rebecca Bond (Sudbury, Ont.) - York
Maureen Mommersteeg (St. Thomas, Ont.) - Laurier
Goaltender
Mel Dodd-Moher (Stittsville, Ont.) - Queen's