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Fifth-year Tommies goaltender Katie Sweeney was announced as this year’s Atlantic University Sport Women's Hockey most valuable player. Sweeney was recognized alongside women’s hockey Head Coach Peter Murphy, who was named AUS Coach of the Year. 

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Katie Sweeney, St. Thomas Tommies  

From Tecumseh, ON, Sweeney finished the regular season with a U SPORTS-leading save percentage of .955. Her 1.39 goals-against average was the best in the conference.  

Sweeney started in 17 games for the Tommies this season, who finished third in the conference standings with an 18-8-0-2 record.  

In addition to being named the conference's top player, Sweeney was also named an AUS First Team All-Star. This marks her second conference all-star nod after being named an AUS Second Team All-Star in 2023-24. 

This is just the second time in program history a º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ player has been named AUS MVP. Former Tommies standout Kelty Apperson first earned the honour in 2015-16.  

Sweeney now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the Brodrick Trophy for U SPORTS player of the year. 

Fellow Tommies Amber Daley (defence) and Nadia Lavoie (forward) were also recognized, earning AUS Women's Hockey second-team all star honours. 

COACH OF THE YEAR: Peter Murphy, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ Tommies  

In his 24th season at the helm of the St. Thomas Tommies, Peter Murphy has been selected by his peers as the AUS women's hockey coach of the year for the second time in his career. 

“I am certainly humbled to have garnered the votes to receive the award but would first share the award with our coaching staff, Genevieve David and Kirk Gormley. We were fortunate enough to receive the award once before, and it certainly makes everyone feel good about the work we put into the program," Murphy said. "It's a testament to the team's commitment to improvement and effort level throughout the year."

This season, Coach Murphy led the U SPORTS No. 9-ranked Tommies to an 18-8-0-2 record and a third-place finish in the conference standings.  

The Tommies led the conference in power-play goals (20) while finishing second in power-play percentage (19.0) and backstopped that offensive production with the league's top save percentage (.945). 

“There were many teams that had strong seasons and the parity in the league seems to only increase each and every year,” Murphy said. “We are very fortunate to have the support of the Athletics and Recreation department, university administration, and community to help our players represent the St. Thomas at the highest level.”

 

This marks Coach Murphy's second AUS Coach of the Year nod after first earning the honour in 2018-19. 

He will now be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award.