Women's Hockey | 1/13/2018 5:41:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- One of the most accomplished players in the history of the
Robert Morris women's hockey team has received one of the Steel City's greatest civic honors for excellence in sports.
Brittany Howard is the Dapper Dan Charities Pittsburgh Sportswoman of the Year for 2017, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced in its Sunday edition. She edged a group of nominees that included the volleyball teams from Pitt and Penn State, Linnea Faccenda of Duquesne women's soccer and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough of the WNBA's Washington Mystics.
Previously, Brianna Delaney and Kristen DiCiocco were the only other women's hockey players in school history to be up for the award, with both getting nods in January of 2012.
"We couldn't be more proud and happy for Brit. She's had an outstanding career here at RMU and helped elevated the hockey program to new heights," head coach
Paul Colontino said. "She is both incredibly hard-working and talented, and she is a well-deserved recipient for such a prestigious award."
Apropos of Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby being concurrently named Sportsman of the Year, Howard profoundly stated her case as the "Crosby" of NCAA women's hockey during the 2017 calendar year.
The first-line center and St. Thomas, Ontario native scored 24 goals and registered 43 points in that span. Her 2016-17 campaign, the most prolific in program history, ended with her setting the Robert Morris single-season assist record (30) and becoming the first RMU player to win both the College Hockey America (CHA) scoring title, with 50 points, and its Player of the Year award, while setting a new Colonials record by averaging 1.58 points per game as a redshirt junior.
Her critical goal in the middle of the CHA Tournament Final versus Syracuse at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York Mar. 4, 2017 insured the first tournament title for the Colonials since 2012 after she had already helped power RMU to its first regular-season conference title in history. The win also gave Robert Morris its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
The start of the 2017-18 season saw Howard named assistant captain by Colontino Sept. 18. She promptly overtook former teammate Rebecca Vint as the Colonials' career points leader in a win at Mankato Oct. 8 and joined Vint as the only other RMU player to score 70 all-time goals while clinching an upset of then-No. 5 Ohio State Nov. 25 in sudden-death overtime.
Howard ended 2017 just three goals away from breaking Vint's career record (73) and was named CHA Player of the Month for October and November, having also earned that distinction last February. Meanwhile, she was drafted tenth overall by Vint's current team, the Isobel Cup champion Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), back on Aug. 17.
Entering the weekend, her 90 career assists were tied for the second-most by any active Division I player, and her 72 goals and 162 points as a collegian were both second-best nationally. Sixteen of those goals have been game-winners, the second-most in Robert Morris history, and Howard was the first D-I player this season to net three shorthanded markers.
The 2017 Dapper Dan Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year will be celebrated at the 82nd annual Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction Wed., Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown.
This marks the first time two hockey players have been concurrently named Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year since Dapper Dan began naming a Sportswoman of the Year for the 1999 calendar year.
Robert Morris alumnus and Pittsburgh Steelers vice president and general manager Kevin Colbert, recipient of this year's Dr. Freddie Fu Sports Leadership Award, will be recognized as well.
Call 412-263-3850 or visit
post-gazette.com/dapperdan18 for additional event information, or to buy tickets.
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