(Repeat of the presentation held at the AEC on Friday.)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Once again, we at Wisconsin Prep Hockey, thank you for coming to view the award presentation this afternoon.

These awards have been named for players who have help defines women’s hockey:  Jinelle Siergiej, Molly Engstrom and Jessie Vetter.  These ladies played hockey in Wisconsin’s youth programs and through the Olympics.  They have set examples of how players should act on and off the ice.

Today, while we are only naming a total of thirty players, we say thank you and congratulations to all of the players and coaches for the 2011-12 hockey season. 

Players understand that individual accomplishments never outweigh the good of the team.  Also, they realize they couldn’t get here without the support of their teammates, coaches and family.  This has been exemplified over the last two seasons, when Hillary Drake received the Jessie Vetter Award her first statement upon receiving the award was:  “This is really a team award, because I could never accomplish this without the efforts of my teammates.”  This is what high school sports is about.

 Sports programs help individuals learn aspects of life, which can’t always be taught in a classroom.  Parents set the foundation for their children to learn Respect; Responsibility and Discipline.  Sports help build on these foundations and to learn the importance of teamwork.

Some of our players are in the last year of high school, while others may have just started their high school career.  Take the time to enjoy the memories you are making, you do not get the chance to redo this time in your lives.  Sometime down the road, make sure you tell the people that coached you and/or helped you and especially your parents “Thank you”.  For most coaches, just knowing they made a difference in one player’s life will make all the time and sacrifices they have dedicated to coaching worthwhile.

Last night Girls Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association named their All-State teams for 1^st, 2^nd and Honorable Mention, which can be found on www.wisconsinprephockey.net.  They named their Coach of the Year, Denny Drake of the Central Wisconsin Storm and Ms. Hockey Wisconsin – Anna Westmark of the Appleton United. 

Now onto our award ceremony.

We are going to start with the Jinelle Siergiej Award. 

The following are our ten finalists:

• Anna Westmark, Appleton
• Lauren Roethlisberger, Bay Area Ice Bears
• Emily Lester, ECA Stars
• Katherine Nejedlo, Fondy/Waupun
• Holly Turnbull, Hayward/Spooner
• Arianna Smith, KM Glacier
• Theresa Knutson, Onalaska
• Hailey Rock, St. Croix Valley Fusion
• Kendall Nelson, Tomahawk
• Kassie Lien, WSFLGUS

Three of these players contributed in 63% or more of their team’s total goals.  The winner of this year’s Jinelle Siergiej Award had 61 goals and 32 assists for a total of 93 points during the regular season.  Our winner is Theresa Knutson.

The second award will be the Molly Engstrom Award. 

The following are our ten finalists:

• Emma Kohl, Appleton United
• Rachel Martel, Arrowhead
• Paige Sedlar, Central WI Storm
• Camille Herzog, ECA Stars
• Katey Polakoski, Fondy/Waupun
• Kelly Ahlgren, Hayward/Spooner
• Paige Johnson, Marshfield 
• Ellie Woodman, Rock County Fury
• Tori Klingler, St. Croix Valley Fusion
• Margot Peterson, USM

Molly Engstrom said: '"I would love to be able to be there.  Thank you for the heads up.  I am, however, living in Toronto right now, training and playing.  I have two games on the weekend and then will be wrapping up the season through March.  But thank you again, good luck with the awards and congratulations to all of the girls on their season this year and to the recipients."'  

The winner of the 2011-12 Molly Engstrom Award is Paige Johnson.

Our final award of the day is the award we started two years ago, the Jessie Vetter Award. 

The ten finalists are:

• Sarah Block, Bay Area Ice Bears
• Maddie Lockwood, Beaver Dam
• Jordyn Bunce, ECA Stars
• Allie Gloudemans, Fox Cities Stars
• Alexis Straughan, Marshfield
• Kim Van Brunt, Northland Pines
• Kalli Armagost, St. Croix Valley Fusion
• Kenzie Torpy, Stoughton 
• Heidi Golembiewski, USM
• Julia Brueggen, Viroqua

The winner of this year’s Jessie Vetter Award is Julia Brueggen.