Picard-Hooper wins seventh major award as Redmen seniors honoured
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(GRADUATING SENIORS FROM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: STEPHEN VALENTE, GUILLAUME DOUCET AND SIMON MARCOTTE-LEGARE. PHOTO BY GARY RUSH)
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MONTREAL - Alexandre Picard-Hooper has added yet another major award to his growing collection as the star centre from Boucherville, Que., is the recipient of the Dr. Bobby Bell trophy as most valuable player of the ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ men's hockey team. He was one of four major awards announced by head coach Kelly Nobes, at the 31st annual Friends of ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Hockey awards gala.
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Francis Verreault-Paul, a third-year sniper from Mashteuiatsh, Que., copped the team's Molson Cup award for having accumulated the most three-star selections. Other trophies went to freshmen rearguards Hubert Genest of Quebec City and Vincent Bourgeois of Rosemere, Que., who were voted by teammates as rookie of the year (FMH trophy) and most improved player (Albert Fyon trophy), respectively.
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Also honoured were the team's three graduating seniors, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥s Guillaume Doucet of Anjou, Que., and Simon ²Ñ²¹°ù³¦´Ç³Ù³Ù±ð-³¢Ã©²µ²¹°ùé of Longueuil, Que., plus rearguard Stephen Valente of St. Leonard, Que. Each was presented with their game jersey, a framed action portrait and the infamous ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ school tie.
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It has been a banner year for Picard-Hooper, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, who has captured seven major awards. He also won the Senator Joseph Sullivan trophy as the most outstanding player in CIS men's hockey, the Bill L'Heureux trophy as most outstanding player in the OUA, the OUA East Conference player of the year award and the D. Stuart Forbes trophy as male athlete of the year at ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ in addition to meriting OUA all-star status and CIS All-Canadian honours.
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In 46 games overall, Picard-Hooper, a 23-year-old finance and accounting junior, scored 91 points, including a school record 68 assists, surpassing the previous mark of 60 set by George Burnett in 1982-83. Picard-Hooper finished three points short of the team's single-season overall record of 94 set by Pierre Gendron in 1996-97. In 28 conference games, Picard-Hooper led the country in scoring with 58 points, including 11 goals, His 47 assists were also tops in the nation and five shy of the regular-season school record set by George Burnett in 1982-83. Picard-Hooper became the first Redmen player to win the CIS scoring race since current Montreal Canadiens ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Mathieu Darche accomplished the feat in 1999-00.
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Verreault-Paul, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound winger, also had a banner campaign, leading the nation with 28 goals in only 19 games. Overall, the third-year science student who is majoring in psychology, led the team with 38 goals and ended up with 60 points in 35 games, despite missing 11 contests with a high ankle sprain. ÌýHe was named as an OUA all-star but was snubbed in the all-Canadian voting, an award he received last year.
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Genest, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound kinesiology freshman out of the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors, played all 46 games and posted a 5-16-21 record overall.
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Bourgeois, another product of the Montreal Juniors, is a political science sophomore in his first season with the Redmen. The 6-foot, 172-pound defensive defenceman registered four assists and only eight penalty minutes while playing in 44 contests.
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Doucet, an alternate captain and physical education senior, graduates with 85 goals and 169 points in 181 career games. ²Ñ²¹°ù³¦´Ç³Ù³Ù±ð-³¢Ã©²µ²¹°ùé, a finance senior, posted a 33-83-116 record in 149 games, while Valente will graduate with a science degree in microbiology. He finished his Redmen career with a 3-18-21 dossier in 132 contests.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012