The future looks bright for the Harvard women's hockey team. Freshman forward Kiirsten Suurkask was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and voted onto the All-Ivy Second Team on Monday.
The native of Delta, British Columbia finished the season with 16 goals and 10 assists in league games for 26 total points. She was second on the team in overall scoring with 30 goals and 21 assists for 51 points.
Suurkask led Harvard in goals (30), power-play goals (6), short-handed goals (5) and game-winning goals (4). She was named Ivy Rookie of the Week four different times during the season.
Suurkask was one of the biggest reasons that Harvard (14-16, 8-15 ECAC, 4-6 Ivy) made it to the ECAC playoffs for the first time in three years. The Crimson was eliminated on Saturday night in a hard-fought first-round battle against top-ranked new Hampshire, 2-1, in overtime.
Harvard's 14 victories are the most since the 1988-89 season, when the Crimson last won a regular-season Ivy League Championship and went 15-8-1. It is also the winningest season for Harvard under the tenure of coach Katey Stone, who is in her fourth year at the helm for the Crimson.
A graduate of South Delta Secondary School, Suurkask is no stranger to awards. She was a member of Team British Columbia for the 1995 Canada Winter Games and for the Canadian National Senior Championship. She was also a member of the Canadian Junior National Team last year.
Suurkask's honor bodes well for Harvard's future. She is the fifth player in Harvard history to be named Ivy Rookie of the Year. The last to do it was 1998 U.S. Olympic Team Member A.J. Mlezcko in 1994. Mlezcko will rejoin the Crimson next season for her final year of eligibility.
Suurkask was also second on the team in scoring to a fellow freshman, Angie Francisco, who was Suurkask's linemate for most of the year.
Suurkask's award represents Harvard's emergence from the ranks of rebuilding to the height of championship contention. And Suurkask herself will be a pivotal component in Harvard's rise to the top of the ECAC.
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