Rookie-of-Year Finalists Announced
ALBANY, N.Y. -- ECAC Hockey today announced the finalist for the 2009-10 Women’s Rookie of the Year Award. Jillian Dempsey of Harvard; Laura Fortino of Cornell; and Victoria Vigilanti of Quinnipiac have each been nominated for the honor by the League’s coaches. These three freshmen made an immediate impact on the success of their teams in conference action this season.
Dempsey enjoyed a stellar rookie season as she stood second on the Crimson with 21 points in League action, having scored 10 goals and assisted on 11 other tallies. A two-time ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week, Dempsey, who has netted Harvard's only shorthanded goal this season, ranked second among the conference's freshmen with 0.95 points per game. A native of Winthrop, MA, Dempsey was eighth in the league in goals scored (10) and 11th in power-play goals scored (3).
Cornell rookie, Laura Fortino not only help lead the Big Red defense, which only yielded 1.18 goals per game, ranking first in League play, but was a solid player at the offensive end of the ice for the Big Red. As a defender she amassed 1.09 goals per game (9g-15a-24pts), leading all freshmen in League play. These figures were good enough for her to sit atop the defensemen scoring category as well. She also ranked first in the League with six power-play goals and 11 power-play points (6g-5a) in 22 contests.
Vigilanti started all 22 conference games, recording an 11-4-7 mark in ECAC play. The rookie set her personal season-high save record against Cornell (Feb. 5) and Clarkson (Feb. 13) when she turned aside 37 shots in both games. Her efforts in net earned her seven weekly awards on the year, as she was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week four times and ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week three times. Vigilanti backboned a Bobcats' defense that saw a team earn a record in conference wins (11) and earn its first postseason host position in the program's history. She finished the regular-season ranked first in the ECAC Hockey standings in save percentage (.957) and second in goals-against average (1.15).
