Matt Rochon did everything he could with a lacrosse stick to make it a memorable season for the Cowboy Ranch/Regional Security Stylers.
In 12 Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association regular season games Rochon had a hand in a third of his team's 127 goals this season, finishing third in the scoring race with 41 goals and 55 points.
In a vote of all the teams and the league executives, Rochon stood out above of all the rest. The 22-year-old forward was presented the Helen McIntosh most valuable player award as the league honoured its best players.
At just 22, Rochon is still at the prime of his career and he joined some select company with previous MVP award winners Blake McIntosh, Dave Jenkins and John Makowsky, all of whom played against Rochon this season.
"When I was younger playing midget and minor lacrosse I was looking up to all those guys and it's kind of an accomplishment of mine to be one of them now," said Rochon.
Rochon, 22, was also picked as a first-team PGSLA all-star. He and teammate Morgan Bloom, a converted goaltender, formed a solid one-two scoring punch for the young Stylers. Bloom was the league's fifth-leading scorer with 53 points, 12 of which were goals.
"I grew up playing with Morgan and I haven't played much with him [as forward] because in minor he used to be a goalie, but we really clicked together and it was nice having him on the left side," said Rochon.
"We had a pretty young team with a lot of newer guys and lot of guys out there who were teaching them lacrosse, so that was kind of fun. I'm hoping for next season we can get all the new guys improving their skills so they will be key players on our team, and maybe we can pick up a couple of talented guys. Hopefully we can have a rebound year and come back stronger."
Rochon joined the senior league as a 17-year-old midget call-up, breaking in with the BX Pub Bandits. He played one season of junior B in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League with the Grande Prairie Thrashers. The Stylers acquired him in a trade midway through the 2012 season.
They ended up fourth in the PGSLA this year with a 4-8 record and were swept from the playoffs in a three-game semifinal series by the Westwood Pub Devils, who went undefeated at 12-0. Rochon did his part to extend the Stylers' postseason, toaling four goals and seven assists in three playoff games.
Two other Stylers were picked for league awards. Dave Stewart-Candy won the Aaron Van Driesum most sportsmanlike player award. Stewart-Candy lives in Vancouver but commutes to Prince George for games. Stylers player/coach Steve Grabowski won the Les Bartley coach/manager of the Year award.
Other award winners were: Scott Anderson, Westwood Pub Stylers, R.C. Adams Glass top defensive player; Jamie Bellamy, Stylers, Ted Conway top goaltender; Liam Miller, Bandits, most improved player. Cameron Braun of the Stylers won the scoring title, finishing with 34 goals and 30 assists for 64 points.
The first all-star team included Bellamy as the goalie, Scott Anderson and Kyle Adams of the Stylers on defence, Braun at transition, and Rochon and Danton Nicholson of the Stylers on offence. The 16-year-old Miller was the second team all-star goalie, with Ryan Waddington of the Bandits and Brent McIsaac of the Stylers on defence, Craig Dunfield at transition, and Sobhnik Manhas of the Stylers and Drew Doig of the Bandits on offence.
