Two Stingers women win national hockey honours

By John Austen

Two Concordia women’s hockey players took home awards from the All-Canadian banquet in Montreal March 10 following the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women’s hockey championships.

Goaltender Cecilia Anderson (above) was named Tissot Rookie of the Year, and Janna Gillis won the Marion Hillard - SN Award for best combining hockey with academics and citizenship.

In 15 regular-season games. Anderson posted a 11-1-3 record, leading the Quebec conference and placing in the top five in the country with a goals-against average of 0.93, a save percentage of .965, and five shutouts.

Overall, she played in 26 games for the Stingers, including a 7-2 victory over the touring Chinese national team, a contest in which she turned away 40 of 42 shots.

A native of Sweden, she hopes to represent her country at the World Championships in Halifax at the end of the month.

Gillis, 23, came to Concordia from Birch Hill, P.E.I., and is in her fifth and final season with the Stingers. In 16 regular-season games, she tallied one goal and added four assists. She was recruited by head coach Les Lawton at the 1999 Canada Winter Games.

Janna is finishing a BA in sociology with a minor in psychology, has been an Academic all-Canadian and placed on Concordia University Dean’s List the past three years; she received the Bauer-Nike Achievement Award in 2002 and 2003. In 2003-04, she completed the all semester with a 3.75 GPA. Her community involvement includes mentoring a 12-year-old and a five-year-old boy through Batshaw Youth and Family Services; Samaritan’s Purse, collecting Christmas gifts for under-privileged children; volunteering at Kahnawake girls hockey tournament; and coaching at Concordia boys and girls hockey skills camp.