Vaillancourt Tabbed to All-America First Team

Photo by DSPics.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard senior forward Sarah Vaillancourt, a finalist for the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the nation's best player, has been honored on the RBK/AHCA All-America first team for the second straight season.

Vaillancourt, who took home the Kazmaier trophy in 2008, earned her third All-America selection overall after amassing a Crimson-best 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points, ranking her fourth in the nation with 1.93 points per contest.  Vaillancourt was tied for fifth in assists per game (1.00) and tied for seventh in goals per game (0.93).  A native of Sherbrooke, Que., Vaillancourt was named the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year the last two seasons.

A Harvard co-captain this year, Vaillancourt tied for the ECAC Hockey lead with 35 points on 20 tallies and 15 assists, despite playing only 17 conference games.  She led all scorers in Ivy League action with 20 points, scoring 12 times and adding eight assists in nine games played.  For her effort, she was selected to the All-ECAC Hockey and All-Ivy League first teams for the second consecutive season. 

Overall, the senior forward is a four-time All-ECAC Hockey honoree, a three-time Ivy League choice and was honored as the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year in 2005. 

Vaillancourt helped the Crimson grab its second straight Ivy League and ECAC Hockey regular-season crowns.  She recorded 14 multiple-point games and netted three hat tricks, including a four-goal performance at Cornell Feb 13.  Vaillancourt was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on three straight occasions (Feb. 9, Feb. 16 and Feb. 23) and collected a season-best seven points on three goals and four assists against Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal round Feb. 3. 

She amassed 237 points over her Crimson career, ranking her tied for fourth in NCAA history (dating back to 2001) and seventh on the Crimson's all-time scoring chart.  Vaillancourt tallied 106 goals during her four seasons, placing her in a third-place tie among NCAA skaters and fifth in Harvard history.  She also stands tied for fifth on Harvard's all-time assists chart with 131.

Vaillancourt, a 2006 gold medalist with Team Canada at the Torino Olympics, was recently named to Canada's roster for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Women's Championship, to be held April 4-12 in Hämeenlinna, Finland.  Vaillancourt helped Canada to claim the gold medal at the 2007 Women's Four Nation Cup, as well as the 2004 and 2007 IIHF World Championships.