Ontario University Athletics has named Newmarket-area hockey star Abby Lunney as one of its rookies of the year.
The Holland Landing native earned the award March 6 after her first season with the Nipissing University after scoring 23 points and 12 goals in 28 games, the goals marking her sixth in the league.
Lunney said she was honoured and excited to bring the award home.
“It was honestly an unforgettable season,” she said. “The culture of the team and the dynamics was amazing, the coaching staff was amazing and I made lots of great friends. We didn’t necessarily have the success we were looking for in the end, but throughout the season we played hard, we stayed consistent and we worked together.”
Lunney helped her team to finish second overall in the 12-team league over the season with a 22-4-2 record. But they would falter in the playoffs, ousted by York University.
“The first half of our season was amazing,” she said. “Then toward the end, every team has a little bit of a bump in the road in terms of their play, and we worked really hard to try to find that mark again. Only two games in the playoffs, it can kind of go either way.”
Regardless, Lunney and her teammates received plenty of individual recognition, with Lunney also making the all-rookie team. Fellow Nipissing Laker Katie Chomiak was player of the year, while Kara Den Hoed was defender of the year.
“It was a debut to remember for Abby Lunney, as she kicks off her varsity career with an award-winning campaign for the Nipissing Lakers,” the OUA said in its award roundup. “Not only was Lunney a linchpin in the high-octane Lakers lineup, but she did so in her first season on the varsity ice.”
Lunney credited her strong season to the people around her.
“My teammates and my linemates, they helped me to build confidence playing in this league for the first time, and then, of course, the coaching staff as well,” she said. “They pushed me to be better, and they believed in me. That was a big thing for me to build that confidence.”
Lunney, who attended high school in Newmarket, previously gained attention competing for Team Canada's U18 girls hockey team, helping it win gold.
With only three graduating players for Nipissing's women's team, Lunney said she feels good about next season.
“We have a lot of talented girls on the team,” she said. “Just heading into next year, we got to come out the same and just try and find that consistency.”
