Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy
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| Award details | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Given for | Playoff champion of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League |
| History | |
| First award | 1995 |
| Most recent | Sydney Sirens |
The Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy is the annually awarded championship trophy, of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL), to the winner of the AWIHL finals. Originally donated in 1995, the trophy is named after Joan McKowen who died September 15, 1992 and her husband Maxwell McKowen died in 2010.
This trophy originated from a women's ice hockey championship tournament that started in 1994, which was a competition that was hosted in Queensland between a New South Wales team and a Queensland team competing. This invitational Women's tournament was just the beginning and saw the New South Wales team winning the championship. From this competition, the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy began, first being awarded in February 1995. This event was held annually and served as the Australian senior women's national ice hockey championship.
The Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy began being annually awarded after the Queensland women's invitational tournament in 1994 and was awarded to the winner of the Australian women's national ice hockey tournament until 2010.
A development league started in 1994-1995 which consisted of: Under 14, Under 16, Under 18, and Under 21 women's ice hockey teams. After Queensland hosted the Women's Invitational Tournament, where they played the New South Wales team in 1994, the introduction of 4 state teams for the senior women's national tournament followed in 1995 and the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy was awarded as an annual trophy to the winner of the senior women's national ice hockey tournament. The original 4 teams represented: New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
The first senior women's national ice hockey final was held in Sydney, New South Wales in February 1995.
The first team to win the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy in the inaugural tournament was the senior women's New South Wales team in February 1995, with the following individual rewards from the tournament:
Most Valuable Player Stephanle Wheaten - ACT
Goaltender Award Jade Rose - ACT
Highest Points Scorer Stephanie Wheaten - ACT
The All Star line up consisted of the following players:
1st All Star Line
2nd All Star Line
In only its third season, there was concern for the survival of the women's tournament in 1996, when Queensland needed to withdraw from hosting the tournament. The New South Wales Ice Hockey Association were able to rescue the tournament and also host the national woman's championships in the newly renovated Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink. This year, 4 teams competed in the tournament: New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. This was South Australia's debut into the national competition.
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