All-Rookie Team and Preliminary Award Announcements

WAKEFIELD, Mass. – Northeastern women's hockey freshmen Alina Mueller and Chloe Aurard were each unanimously selected to the Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team, as the league unveiled its preliminary postseason award selections on Wednesday.

The top two rookie scorers in Hockey East this season, Mueller and Aurard have excelled in their first collegiate year as the Huskies (25-5-5) enter the league semifinals as the top seed in Hockey East and the No. 3 team in both national polls.

Mueller leads all WHEA rookies in goals (19), assists (30), points (49), power-play points (14), game-winning goals (5), plus/minus (+32), shots on goal (125) and faceoff wins (342). The first freshman in program history be named a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist, Mueller has recorded at least a point in all but five games this season, and has notched points in all 10 contests against ranked opponents.

Mueller's 49-point campaign is tied for second in the NU record book among the highest-scoring rookie seasons in program history; only Vicky Sunohara (78 points in 1988-89) scored more points in her freshman year than Mueller in 2018-19. The Winterthur, Switzerland native has been named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month in Hockey East four times so far this season, and has earned four Rookie of the Week nods and two Player of the Week accolades.

One of five Hockey East freshmen with at least 11 goals this season, Aurard ranks second among league rookies in assists (17) and points (28). Aurard posted 26 of her 28 points in WHEA play, including a four-assist effort against New Hampshire on Nov. 10 and a two-goal performance at Maine on Nov. 17. The Villard-de-Lans, France native has eight multi-point games this season and was previously named the Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Month in November, and the league's Player of the Week on Nov. 12.

With the inclusion of Mueller and Aurard on the 2018-19 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team, Northeastern has now had at least one freshman honored on the team in five of the last six seasons.

In addition to the announcement of the All-Rookie Team, the league also unveiled the Sportsmanship Award winner (Marie-Jo Pelletier, UNH), the Best Defensive Forward (Makenna Newkirk, BC), the Best Defenseman (Megan Keller, BC), the Three Stars Award (Keller), and the Scoring Champion (Jesse Compher, BU) on Wednesday. Sophomore Skylar Fontaine was named the runner-up for the Best Defenseman award, while Mueller was tabbed as the runner-up for both the Three Stars Award and the Scoring Champion.

The remainder of the awards, including the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, and the WHEA All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Friday, March 8 during the league's annual postseason awards banquet.

2018-19 Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team
Player	Position	Hometown	School
Cayla Barnes *	Defense	Eastvale, Calif.	Boston College
Kelly Browne	Forward	Burlington, Mass.	Boston College
Chloe Aurard *	Forward	Villard-de-Lans, France	Northeastern
Sara Hjalmarsson	Forward	Bankeryd, Sweden	Providence
Alina Mueller *	Forward	Winterthur, Switzerland	Northeastern
Mackenna Parker	Forward	Clavet, Saskatchewan	Boston University

* Denotes unanimous selection

Sportsmanship Award: Marie-Jo Pelletier, New Hampshire
Runner-Up: Sammy Kolowrat, Vermont

Best Defensive Forward: Makenna Newkirk, Boston College
Runner-Up: Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Merrimack

Best Defenseman: Megan Keller, Boston College
Runner-Up: Skylar Fontaine, Northeastern

Three Stars Award: Megan Keller, Boston College
Runner-Up: Alina Mueller, Northeastern

Scoring Champion: Jesse Compher, Boston University
Runner-Up: Alina Mueller, Northeastern