ERIE, Pa. – Five members of the Mercyhurst University women's hockey team picked up individual awards Thursday night at the College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament banquet held at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center. The event precedes the CHA semifinals and championship games to be held Friday and Saturday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Junior forward Emily Janiga collected the most accolades, including CHA Player of the Year, All-CHA First Team, and CHA scoring champion. The East Aurora, NY, native led the six-team conference in points (31), goals (20), power play goals (9), and power play points (13) and was second in game-winning goals with four.

Senior defenseman Molly Byrne (Plymouth, Minn.) joined Janiga on the CHA First Team and was named the CHA's Best Defenseman. Byrne finished first among CHA defensemen in points (20) and led the conference with 17 assists. She placed second, to Janiga, in power play points with 11.

Senior goaltender Amanda Makela (Thunder Bay, Ontario) took home the CHA Goaltending Trophy. Makela, 11-4-1 in conference action, was first in CHA in goal-against-average (1.56), first in winning percentage (.719), and third in save percentage (.928). She anchored a defense that allowed a conference-best 1.55 goals-per-game.

Junior winger Jenna Dingeldein (Toronto, Ontario) was selected to the All-CHA Second Team. Dingeldein finished first in game-winning goals (6), first in shorthanded goals (3), and second in both goals (14) and conference scoring with 24 points.

Finally, freshman forward Sarah Robello (Las Vegas, Nev.) was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Robello finished third on the team in overall scoring with 27 points and wound up third in conference scoring among rookies with 14.

The Lakers also picked up the team trophy for finishing first in the regular season for the 13th consecutive season.

Mercyhurst (23-8-3) will play defending tournament champion RIT (13-18-5) in a conference semifinal game Friday at 3:00 p.m. at the Ice Center. Syracuse (10-14-10), which joined Mercyhurst in getting an opening round bye, will tangle with Penn State (17-15-4) at 7:00 p.m. in Friday's other semifinal. The winners will play for the championship, and the conference's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

2014-15 CHA Awards

First Team All-Conference
Shara Jasper, F; Lindenwood
Emily Janiga, F; Mercyhurst
Melissa Piacentini, F; Syracuse
Molly Byrne, D; Mercyhurst
Nicole Renault, D; Syracuse
Nicole Hensley, G; Lindenwood

Second Team All-Conference
Rebecca Vint, F; Robert Morris
Laura Bowman, F; Penn State
Jenna Dingeldein, F; Mercyhurst
Mikaela Lowater, D; Robert Morris
Akane Hosoyamada, D; Syracuse
Jennifer Gilligan, G; Syracuse

Rookie All-Conference
Sarah Robello, F; Mercyhurst
Stephanie Grossi, F; Syracuse
Alysha Burriss, F; Syracuse
Christa Vuglar, D; RIT
Bella Sutton, D; Penn State
Hannah Ehresmann, G; Penn State

Team Sportsmanship Award
Penn State University

Individual Sportsmanship Award
Taylor Thurston, RIT

CHA Scoring Trophy
Emily Janiga, Mercyhurst

CHA Goaltending Trophy
Amanda Makela, Mercyhurst

Best Defenseman
Molly Byrne, Mercyhurst

Best Defensive Forward
Lindsay Grigg, RIT

Rookie of the Year
Stephanie Grossi, Syracuse

Player of the Year
Emily Janiga, Mercyhurst

Coach of the Year
Paul Flanagan, Syracuse