Syracuse ice hockey’s Ava Drabyk, Jessica Cheung receive AHA weekly honors
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Syracuse goaltender Ava Drabyk and defender Jessica Cheung were named Atlantic Hockey America players of the week, the conference announced Monday. Drabyk took home Goaltender of the Week while Cheung was named the AHA Defenseman of the Week.
The honors come after Syracuse swept Stonehill in the season’s opening weekend, outscoring the Skyhawks 7-1. Drabyk stopped 36 of 37 shots (.973 save percentage), while Cheung scored twice and blocked four shots.
Drabyk held Stonehill scoreless in Friday’s 3-0 win, recording 17 saves. In Saturday’s 4-1 victory, she tallied 19. It’s the sophomore’s fourth time winning AHA Goaltender of the Week with Syracuse, in addition to other accolades throughout a strong freshman season.
Cheung made her presence known on both sides of the ice. The Ottawa, Ontario, native limited Stonehill’s defense with the aforementioned four blocked shots across the weekend. But Cheung’s offense proved most decisive Friday. Her second-period power-play goal doubled Syracuse’s lead and came on SU’s fourth woman-up advantage Friday. Her goal Saturday gave SU a three-goal advantage.
The honor is Cheung’s first-ever weekly award. The junior was previously named to the AHA All-Rookie Team after her freshman season.
Drabyk and Cheung delivered strong showings throughout first-year head coach Brian Idalski’s opening two games, which the Orange aim to replicate as conference play opens Friday.
