by John Austen

Hockey stars lauded for achievements

Vince Labossière, captain of the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team, was presented with the Concordia University Alumni Association’s Outstanding Student Award during a gala dinner at the St. James Club in Montreal recently.

More than 200 were on hand to honour Labossière and seven other friends and contributors to the university.

Labossière, 25, who graduated with top marks in the exercise science program last spring, is working on a graduate diploma in sports administration. The four-time honour student is also a four-time CIAU Academic All-Canadian athlete, and has won the Ed Enos, Laurie Brodrick and Guy Lafleur scholarships.

Labossière also organized the Cast from the Past Project, which honours men’s hockey alumni. He has initiated and helped organize various fundraising efforts for the hockey team.

ConU’s golden girl

Caroline Ouellette, a left-winger with the Concordia women’s hockey team, won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Women’s World Ice Hockey Championship in Minneapolis earlier this month. The 3-2 victory over the U.S. gave Canada its seventh straight gold medal at the world championships.

Therese Brisson, captain of Team Canada, is also a former Stinger. She graduated in 1989 and was inducted into the Concordia Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. Other alumni involved in the game were Cammi Granato, captain of Team USA, and Karyn Bye, an assistant captain with the Americans. Both played for Concordia in mid-’90s.

The Montrealer is expected to attend Team Canada’s training camp in August, when the national team will begin preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Ouellette joined the Stingers last January scoring 12 goals and adding seven assists in just eight games.

The Real deal

Centre Real Kitieu of the Concordia men’s basketball team was given an honourable mention All-Canadian at the 2001 national championship tournament in Halifax. The honour confirms his status as one of the top 15 players in the CIAU.

Kitieu, a native of Cameroon, arrived at Concordia in 1998. Last season, he evolved into a dominant player and was named to the QSSF first all-star team.

In this his third season, Kitieu, 23, was a strong player. He led the CIAU in rebounding with 12.8 a game and shot-blocking with 3.2 a game. He also scores an average of 16 points a game.