Matt Dionne | Sports and Health Editor
Featured image: Shields, pictured above, led the league in goals-against average and finished with the second-best save percentage of .930. | Courtesy of York Lions
After leading the Lions to the Queen’s Cup and leading the league with a 1.78 goals-against average and second-best Ontario University Athletics, or OUA, save percentage of .930, Lions goalie Mack Shields was named the OUA Rookie of the Year.
“I was really honoured. Any time you get acknowledged for the work you put in a season is very rewarding. I think any time a goalie wins an award […] it’s a testament to the team in front of him, and in my case it was no different,” says Shields.
“I had a great group of veteran defensemen who helped me get adjusted to the league and did a lot of little things only a goalie can appreciate.
“The way our team bought into Coach Dennis’ game plan also played a big part of my success this year; he is the back-to-back Coach of the Year for a reason,” he adds.
The first-year administrative studies student, who played for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League last year, joined York this past summer in the hopes of improving on their second-place OUA finish last year.
“My first season at York was a great experience. I met some great people and was able to win a championship. It is a bit of an adjustment focusing on school after playing junior hockey, where your whole mindset is just strictly on hockey, but York has some great programs and personnel that made the transition really smooth for me,” says Shields.
Shields says winning the Queen’s Cup was definitely the highlight of his year: “It’s not every year that you get to win a championship as big as the Queen’s Cup and represent your school at the national level.
“It was an amazing experience. I have played in some big games and in front of crowds as big as 17,000 before, but I can’t think of a game that had an atmosphere as fun as that night’s game.
“We worked so hard all season long with the goal of winning the Queen’s Cup, and to finally throw my gloves off at the end of the game and celebrate with my teammates as champions is something I will never forget,” says Shields on playing in the OUA championship.
Despite falling in the first round of the national championship, Shields valued his time in the tournament last weekend. “We took my hometown University of Saskatchewan into overtime, and played with them the whole time. I think it did wonders for our team to know we can compete with one of the top teams in Canada,” he says.
Shields is looking forward to returning to York, defending the Queen’s Cup and hopefully leading the Lions to a national championship next spring.
“I’m looking forward to going through the whole process again. It is a process to win a championship and I think that’s important for our mindset for next season: to realize you don’t win unless you stick to the process all season long.
“We have a relatively young team and everyone is dedicated and wants to win, which creates a great atmosphere that’s fun to be a part of. It will be fun to see what we can accomplish and hopefully get back to nationals and go further next year,” he adds.
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