Four Women's Ice Hockey Players Named All-America by AHCA
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Four players from three different NESCAC women's ice hockey squads earned All-America recognition from the American Hockey Coaches Association, it was announced Thursday evening.
On the East First Team were Middlebury goaltender Alexi Bloom and Trinity forward Kim Weiss. The Amherst defensive tandem of Randi Zukas and Geneva Lloyd earned a spot on the Second Team. All four individuals were selected to the All-NESCAC First Team this season.
The 2011 NESCAC Player of the Year, Weiss' final season in a Bantam sweater proved to be her best, as she posted a team-leading and career-high 22 goals and 31 points over 26 games en route to becoming the program's all-time scoring leader with 108 points during her tenure (62-45-107). This year's success on the ice can partially be attributed to the lack of time Weiss has spent in the penalty box, having been whistled for just four penalties, a single-season low for her. During a 2-0 victory over Colby on Feb. 11, Weiss scored both goals, the first of which made her the first Bantam to ever reach the century mark in career points. An All-NESCAC First Team selection in each of the last three years, the Potomac, Md. native finished the year riding an 11-game point-scoring streak (11-3-14) which matched her career-long consecutive game point streak set during the 2009-10 campaign.
Bloom (Highland Park, Ill.) has backstopped the Panthers to a league-low 1.04 goals per game heading into the semifinals of the NCAA tournament this weekend at RIT. Bloom stands alone atop the conference in most major statistical categories with career-best figures, owning a 19-3-1 record with 11 shutouts, a 1.02 goals against average, and a .950 save percentage. Middlebury won the 2011 NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship over Amherst on March 6, 4-3.
Zukas (Glen Head, N.Y.), a two-time All-Conference Second Team selection in her first two seasons before being promoted to the First Team in 2010, finished second among league blue-liners and fourth overall in points with 29, half of which came during a late season nine-game scoring streak (1-14-15). Seventeen of the senior's team- and conference-leading 25 assists occurred on the power play.
Returning to the All-Confernece First Team from last year was the sophomore Lloyd (Calgary, Alberta). A dynamic two-way player, Lloyd led her squad in scoring for the second-straight winter, amassing 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points, besting the 31 she recorded as a rookie. Lloyd finished the year first among defenders in scoring, first in power-play points with 23 (8-15-23), and finished the 16-game NESCAC schedule first in points over conference games with nine goals and 13 assists.
