SYRACUSE, NY – The growing parity in the Northeast Women's Hockey League was never more evident than when the conference unveiled its 2023 All-NEWHL Team.
The All-NEWHL squad was announced by the league on Thursday, March 2, from its conference office in Syracuse, N.Y. The team consists of three forwards, two defensive players and one goaltender on each team and is voted on by the head coaches of the NEWHL.
This year's team featured five different schools represented on the First Team alone as a dozen student-athletes were honored with the annual post-season award.
Plattsburgh led the way with four selections including two on the First Team and two on the Second Team, while Cortland and Oswego each totaled three All-League members – each landing one on the First Team and two on the Second Team. Canton and Potsdam each had one First Team selection.
Plattsburgh graduate student forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, MI/Northern Cyclones) is the most decorated member of the 2023 All-NEWHL Team after she claimed the third First Team selection of her career. She was a First Team member in both 2020 and 2022.
So far in 2022-23, Krauseneck has amassed 37 points on 18 goals and 19 assists with a +27 rating, seven power play goals and eight game-winners. She currently ranks second in points and goals, fourth in assists, and is tied for third in +/- rating in the NEWHL. She tops the conference in power play goals and game-winners.
The Cardinals also saw senior defender Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, FL/Northwood School) repeat as a First Team pick after earning the honor last season. Benjamin has accumulated 28 points on five goals and 23 assists with a +26 rating and ranks first in assists in the league. She also is tied for fourth in points and is tied for 19th in +/- rating.
Senior forward Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, MA/Norwich University) and sophomore defender Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, IL/St. Louis Lady Blues) were named to the Second Team.
Masotta has produced a stellar season thus far with 28 points on 15 goals and 14 assists. She boasts a +28 rating – tied for second-best in the league – while her five power play goals also is tied for second. She is fourth in goals, tied for fourth in points, and tied for ninth in assists.
Norton owns 20 points (tied for 14th) on five goals and 15 assists (8th) to go along with three power play goals and a pair of game-winners. She has a +17 rating that is tied for 13th in the league.
Cortland was led by two repeat members and the 2023 NEWHL Rookie of the Year. Sophomore forward Mia Hlasnick (Olean, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles U19) was named to the First Team this season after being selected to the Second Team in 2022, while senior goaltender Molly Goergen (Cicero, NY/Syracuse Nationals 19UAAA) earned a Second Team slot after making the First Team last year.
Hlasnick has 35 points on 13 goals and 22 assists with four game-winning goals. She is ranked third in points, tied for first in assists and tied for fifth in goals scored in the conference. Her +29 rating is tops in the league.
Goergen has posted a 16-6 record with a league-best 1.20 goals against average and an NEWHL best .948 save percentage. She is second in victories and is fifth in total saves (474).
Freshman defender Ainsley Delacourt (Stoney Creek, ON, Canada/Brampton Canadettes U22AA) – the 2023 NEWHL Rookie of the Year – also earned Second Team accolades.
The rookie has amassed 20 points on six goals and 14 assists so far this season and is currently tied for 14th in scoring and tied for ninth in assists. She also has a +13 rating.
Oswego landed three newcomers on the All-NEWHL squad in First Team selection Amanda Zenstein (Chalfont, PA/Elmira College) – a senior defender – and Second Team picks senior forward Ariella Haas (Albany, NY/Elmira College) and sophomore forward Simone Bednarik (Elmhurst, IL/HC SKP Bratislava).
Zenstein has 17 points on four goals and 13 assists with a +12 rating. She is tied for 12th in assists in the league; meanwhile, Hass has 20 points on six goals and 14 assists, including a pair for game-winners. She is tied for 14th in scoring and ninth in helpers. Bednarik has contributed 16 points on six goals and 10 assists with a +15 rating (tied for 19th).
Potsdam senior forward Kaylee Merrill (Wasilla, AK/Anchorage North Stars) and Canton senior goaltender Sirena Alvarez (Jyväskylä, Finland) both jumped from a Second Team selection in 2022 to a First Team choice in 2023.
Merrill currently leads the NEWHL in goals scored (27) and points (39), and she ranks second in game-winning goals with six. Her 12 assists is tied for 16th in the league while her +15 rating is tied for 19th.
A native of Finland, Alvarez currently ranks fourth in the NEWHL in goals against average with a 2.52 mark, while she is fifth in save percentage with a .920 rate. Her 664 saves ranks second in the conference and her .543 winning percentage (12-10-1 overall record) is third-best in the league. She was named the NEWHL Goaltender of the Year earlier this week.
NEWHL All-Conference First Team
- F Sara Krauseneck (Plattsburgh) – 2020 1st Team / 2022 1st Team
- F Kaylee Merrill (Potsdam) – 2022 2nd Team
- F Mia Hlasnick (Cortland) – 2022 2nd Team
- D Sierra Benjamin (Plattsburgh) – 2022 1st Team
- D Amanda Zenstein (Oswego)
- G Sirena Alvarez (Canton) 2022 2nd Team
NEWHL All-Conference Second Team
- F Ariella Haas (Oswego)
- F Simone Bednarik (Oswego)
- F Julia Masotta (Plattsburgh)
- D Ainsley Delacourt (Cortland)
- D Mattie Norton (Plattsburgh)
- G Molly Goergen (Cortland) – 2022 1st Team