Every year the league honors graduating players who have gone above and beyond, not just for their team but for " Dedicated Service to Team, League, Sport."

Past winners have founded teams, kept them alive through crisis, volunteered for inner city hockey, and more -- for hockey, for us. 

On behalf of the league entire, the following leaders will be bestowed this honor, our version of a lifetime achievement award, at this Sunday's All-Star Game.

Colleen Carroll (VIL)

Therese Dallegro (SJU)

As the founder of the SJU women’s hockey club, Therese Dallegro has worked on building this team since the first day of her freshmen year.  Although it was tough to get the club rolling, Therese was determined and kept her head up.  She wanted to represent her school on the ice and so she made that happen. 

The team started out as six skaters traveling to IceWorks in Aston, PA.  Wearing no equipment, they used the ice time to develop skill and teach new players how to skate. One of Therese’s coaches from high school volunteered to help the players at these practices.  The money to fund these practices was awarded to Therese by the University’s Athletic Director.  During the summer of 2010, the “team” was not able to commit to the DVCHC due to lack of players and the uncertainty that there would even be an actual team come fall.  The fall of 2010 brought more skaters and more practices.  Funding for the practices was donated and the team was able to hold 9 practices at the University of Penn’s Class of ’23 Arena, which would become their home rink.  Over the winter break in 2010, each of the new players acquired hockey equipment and by second semester, the team was able to hold actual practices. The team decided they wanted to test their skills in a “debut game” vs. Villanova.  In the Spring of 2011, SJU played Villanova and 100 fellow Hawks came out to support the new team. 

Therese was not aware that the team was a recognized club on campus until she saw her name listed as the “Club Contact” under “Women’s Ice Hockey” on the club sports website.  She could not believe that what started out as 2 people attending an interest meeting would turn into a 16-membered team.  During the summer of 2011 Therese wrote a proposal to be voted into the DVCHC.  The league voted and by the fall, the team, along with their 3 coaches, would be competing against other teams representing the Hawks in the DVCHC.  As a senior, Therese just finished up her last season with the team. She has seen the team grow from the very beginning and has been so thankful for the players, coaches, fans and the DVCHC because without them this dream would not have become a reality.

Rachel Knee (UVA)

Rachel Knee has played all four years at UVa.  She has experienced the highs of winning a DVCHC championship and the lows of having to sit much of a season due to an injury.  She has played beside some of the greatest players to wear orange and blue and has learned much from them.  She has improved every year, not only as a player, but also a leader.  She has served tirelessly on multiple Exec Boards positions and has grown to be a great leader that the team looks up to.  She has served as mentor, mediator, liaison, and friend to everyone on the team.  She has also reached out to the community and encouraged younger players to foster their dreams of playing hockey in college.  Ms. Knee has reached out to graduating high school seniors to play at UVa to ensure a bright future for the program.

As a liaison between the team, the coaches, and the University, Knee has had to make some tough decisions, but she always stood up for what she thought was right.  Rachel has done all these things with a great sense of humor, grace, and dignity.  It is for all these reasons that I’d like to nominate Rachel Knee for the 2013 DVCHC Founders Award.

Jacqueline Drew (USNA)

Navy’s nomination for the Founder’s Award is Midshipman First Class Jacqueline Drew.  Jacqui was one of the active founders of the Navy team, 4 seasons ago.  As a Massachusetts youth hockey standout, she was frustrated that we had no women’s hockey.  She was an earnest field hockey player, and Navy does have a field hockey club, so Jacqui was not without some outlet for her aggressive athleticism.

She was eager to meet our own Midshipman Ella Starr, a sophomore at Navy who got the word out that the Brigade of Midshipmen was looking for girls interested in ice hockey.  Ella, who as a sophomore commanded little authority at the Academy, was a force majeure, who made starting a women’s hockey team her personal quest.  Jacqui Drew, no shrinking violet herself, and a very accomplished travel team skater, was equally inspired to do what it took to make hockey a reality for the female Midshipmen.

Jacqui has continued the 4-year crusade to establish a robust, impressive, and respectable hockey program for women at Navy.  The girls won their D-2 championship in their second year of play, with almost half the team made of newbies who were introduced to ice hockey while at the Academy. Jacqui became the team president, and undertook the many tasks and challenges to forge ahead to make things happen.  The success of this program would not be so impressive at a “normal school” where there are so many fewer restraints, constraints, rules, regulations, and unfortunately some male biases.  The Navy program is not even a club-level sport…yet.  It has the same moral authority as the Robotics Club, and much less than Women’s Rugby.  The girls practice at 5:30 am each day because they still must compete in afternoon intramurals---because their status does not exempt them from mandatory sports.  They must go to military musters, mandatory events, parades, inspections, etc.  And they cede the best ice time hours to the Men’s Club team.

Jacqui has sustained her hockey team leadership for 4 years.  She has arranged the Movement Orders, a controlled and constrained business process that provides authority for Midshipmen to leave the Academy to participate in extracurricular events. She has coordinated logistics, transport, food, overnight stays, and financial mgt of this self-funded team. She has argued with Lieutenants, Majors, Commanders, and Captains—all excellent training for a junior officer!   She has ingratiated herself and her teammates with the Vice Admiral, who runs the Naval Academy----all for a sport she loves, but willingly gave up when she arrived for Plebe Summer in 2009.

Jacqui has been the continuity of the go-for-broke attitude and zeal of Ella Starr, our true founder.  Jacqui has become the successor, and will graduate in a few weeks to become a navy pilot.  She has earned respect, gratitude, and a wonderful legacy of leadership, perseverance, sacrifice and service. She has also done all of this while being a successful student and officer candidate at an institution where that success is not a given, nor easily earned.  The lives of these midshipmen players is worlds away from the typical college experience of their conference competitors.  To have created this program from nothing, and to have guided its success amidst apathy, disdain, and disinterest shows remarkable poise, perseverance, fortitude and commitment.  Geez, how fitting for a young combat leader!  When I read the description of the award, I knew Jacqui Drew was the ideal candidate.