McGill Tribune

Sports

Charline Labonté-Goaltender, Martlets Hockey

If Labonté hadn't won the Tribune's Female Athlete of the Year award for the past two years, there's a pretty good chance she'd have won it this year. But, as noted above, her effectiveness dropped off slightly this season (in her defence, it would be practically impossible to replicate last year's performance) and she was rarely challenged playing behind the imposing Martlets' defence. At the same time, a 35-2-0 record with 14 shutouts, a .947 save percentage, and a 1.06 goals against average is nothing to be ashamed of.



Kevin Desfossés-Goaltender, Redmen Hockey

Heading into their game against the UOIT Ridgebacks on January 10, the Redmen had a 7-7-1 record in the OUA Eastern Conference, in the thick of a battle for fourth place in their division. Enter Kevin Desfossés, who had been with the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks after turning down an offer to come to McGill in the summer. The Redmen won 11 of their next 13 games to close the regular season-Desfossés started seven of them-and Head Coach Martin Raymond rode his new netminder into the playoffs. Desfossés accumulated an impressive 6-2 record and a .939 save percentage en route to Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the Redmen ultimately fell short of their first CIS title. But if Desfossés hadn't burst onto the scene in January, Raymond's squad likely wouldn't have been playing in Thunder Bay in the first place.



Ben Fax-Starting Pitcher, Redbirds Baseball

In his last year as a Redbird, Fax went 19 innings in the regular season without giving up an earned run. Batters had a .228 average against him, and he issued a mere seven walks. He was lit up in the Redbirds' first tournament game-a 9-0 loss-against the University of New Brunswick. But he rebounded two days later, pitching a complete game to lead the Redbirds to a 3-2 win over the Northern Division champion Laflèche Dragons, allowing McGill to continue playing. The Redbirds eventually lost to UNB 5-3 in the championship game six hours after they had beaten the Dragons. But if it weren't for Fax's heroics, they would have been watching from the stands.



Lukas LaCava-Attackman, Redmen Lacrosse

All-Canadian Attackman LaCava had quite a year, scoring 24 goals and 32 points in 13 games overall-third on the Redmen behind Nick Moreau (42) and Matt Jankowski (34)-but saved his best for the playoffs in the Baggataway Cup. LaCava was the difference in McGill's 13-9 semifinal win over Brock University, scoring three goals and netting two assists to propel the Redmen to the final against the Guelph Gryphons. He turned in another mammoth performance in the final, but the Redmen fell short, losing 14-9. His nine goals at the Baggataway Cup led all players, and he was named Canada's Most Outstanding Attackman at the end of the season. His performance, along with those of Moreau and Jankowski, went a long way to securing McGill's best-ever finish at Nationals, and recognition for the men's lacrosse squad as the McGill club-level Team of the Year.



Jennifer Thomson-Power Hitter, Martlets Volleyball

Thomson, the Martlets' lone fourth-year player, was named an All-Canadian for the fourth consecutive year this past season. The versatile power hitter was seventh in the QSSF with 3.7 points per game, fourth in the country with 4.7 digs per game, and 14th in the country with 3.37 kills per game. She was also invited to tryout for the national beach volleyball team in December. Though the Martlets' season ended with a sweep at the hands of Laval in a Quebec semifinal matchup, she was still named as a QSSF first-team all-star.



-Jacob Kanter