The Nipissing Lakers women’s hockey team was back near the top of the standings, finishing in second place in the OUA this season.
They also continued their streak of playoff appearances, making it six straight season in the post-season and qualified for the second round once again before being swept in round two by the York Lions this past weekend.
That success was recognized in the OUA varsity women's hockey circle.
Malory Dominico led the way, being named OUA Rookie of the Year and earning a spot on the all-rookie team.
She was joined on the all-rookie team by fellow first-year players Maggie McKee and Allison Hayhurst.
A pair of veterans earned second all-star team nods as well, as Maria Dominico and Katelyn Heppner grabbed a spot thanks to impressive years.
Malory Dominico
The North Bay product had a great first year as a member of the Lakers, leading the team in goals and tied for second in points.
The forward had 11 goals, five assists, good for 16 points.
She also picked up two power play goals and two game-winners, as well as three multi-goal games and a total of six multi-point games.
Her first OUA goal came in a win against Laurier, where she posted one goal and one assist.
Maggie McKee
McKee started her OUA career in style, posting 15 points – two goals and 13 assists – leading the team in assists.
She had four multi-point games – two with a goal and an assist and two games with a pair of helpers.
Through the first six games of the season, McKee had seven points – two goals and five assists.
Her first career goal came as part of a two point night against Western on Nov. 2 and she followed up that effort with another goal and assist the following game against Brock.
She also finished the season with four assists in her final six games, including an assist in three straight from Jan. 26 to Feb. 7.
Allison Hayhurst
In her first year with the Lakers, Hayhurst ranked third in points by a defender, posting eight – two goals and six assists.
She started her career off with four points – all assists – in the first two games of the season and recorded her first OUA goal at home against Laurentian on Jan. 11.
She capped off the regular season with two points in her final two game, scoring a goal against Guelph and earning an assist against Brock.
Her steady play in all situations will be counted on in the future as she looks to lead the Nipissing blueliners for years to come.
Maria Dominico
The third-year forward, and Malory's older sister, was back on top of the team’s scoring leaders, posting 20 points in 23 games.
She finished with nine goals and 11 assists, ranking second in both goals and assists.
Dominico’s season began with points in all but one game through the first 11 contests.
She picked up a total of 11 points in that stretch, including five goals.
The local forward had three multi-point games and finished the season off with two points in her final two games, as well as five points in her final six games.
Dominico earned the OUA and USports Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 and has now totaled 28 goals and 28 assists, good for 56 points in her career with the Lakers.
Katelyn Heppner
The veteran defender was outstanding this season, eating up a lot of minutes, as well as playing in all situations.
The Winkler, MB native had a career year, ranking first on the team in scoring by a defender with 12 points.
She scored three times, adding nine assists, leading the blueliners in both categories.
Heppner had two multi-point games and both started and finished the season off with a pair of points on the weekend – earning two assists to start the year and scoring twice to end the year.
She set a new personal mark with three goals and 12 points and tied last year’s assist totals with nine through the year, all while not taking a single penalty, often playing against the opposition’s top players.
