Churchville-Chili graduate Ashley Ryan was named by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) as the Division III Player of the Year and an All-American at the 2015 Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship banquet.
The senior forward for Elmira College captured the prestigious Laura Hurd Award after she tallied 59 points this season on 18 goals and 41 assists for the Soaring Eagles.
The award honors the memory of former Elmira College standout women’s ice hockey player, Laura Hurd, who died tragically in an automobile accident shortly after graduation. Hurd’s mother Jennifer and brother, Steven, were on hand to present the award to Ryan on what would have been Laura’s 33rd birthday.
Ryan was also one of ten student-athletes named to the AHCA CCM All-American squad as a First Team selection.
She helped lead Elmira to a first place finish this season in the ECAC West with a perfect 18-0-0 conference record while outscoring opponents 101-23 over 18 games. They lost to Plattsburgh in the conference playoff semi-finals, received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the final with wins over Trinity and Wisconsin-River Falls before again losing to Plattsburgh in the national championship final.
Earlier this season the criminal justice major broke Elmira College’s single-season record and tied the NCAA Division III record for most assists in a single-season with 42 and joined the 100-point club while tying a single-game school record for most assists in a single-game with six in the 10-2 win over SUNY Cortland on November 15.
