Akstull to Captain Saints in 2009-10

Photo by Tara Freeman

The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team has selected for seniors to serve as captains for the 2009-10 season. Tara Akstull will wear the lone “C” for the Scarlet and Brown, fresh off their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Meanwhile, classmates Courtney Sawchuk, Britni Smith and Brittony Chartier will each serve as assistant captains.

“I’m excited about the quartet of seniors that have been voted by the team to captain us in 2009-10,” said St. Lawrence head women’s hockey coach Chris Wells. “The team will again be led by an outstanding senior group that adds both skill and experience to the locker room.”

Akstull has matured into one of the top scoring threats in ECAC Hockey. The Clifton Park, NY native scored 42 points as a sophomore and followed that effort with 32 points during her junior campaign. She will take over for Marianna Locke ’09, who served as the lone captain for St. Lawrence this season.

Sawchuk has been a reliable player for St. Lawrence since her arrival on campus. Despite joining the team and playing for two seasons as a forward, she has since made a seamless transition to the blue line and served as one of the team’s primary defensemen in 2008-09. She finished her junior year with 11 points on three goals and eight assists.

Smith was partnered at the blue line throughout the season with Sawchuk and continued to be the squad’s most sound defenseman fundamentally. The Port Perry, ON native was the team’s leading scorer at the blue line with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. Smith was also one of the Saints’ primary special teams’ weapons yet again in 2008-09.

Despite joining the Saints as a junior, Chartier made an immediate impact both between the pipes and in the locker room. The Saskatoon, SK native started every game in net for St. Lawrence and finished with a .925 save percentage and a 2.04 goals against average for a 24-11-3 record. Chartier, who finished with four shut outs in her first year with the Scarlet and Brown, made a season-high 41 stops in the Saints’ NCAA Tournament loss at national runner-up Mercyhurst.

The trio of assistant captains replace Carson Duggan, Lisa Batchelor and Alison Domenico, who each donned an “A” on their jerseys last season.