Week ending Jan. 26, 2025
Joel Rumson and Jess Burns
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Name: Bianca Zak
University: St. Francis Xavier University
Sport: Women’s Hockey
Position: Goalie
Hometown: Stonewall, Man.
Year of eligibility: Fourth
Academic program: BSc N
Bianca Zak from the STFX X-Women hockey team is the Atlantic University Sport Female Athlete of the Week for the week ending Jan. 26, 2025.
A goaltender in her fourth year of eligibility from Stonewall, Man., Zak backstopped the U SPORTS no. 4-ranked X-Women to wins this past week.
She had 29 saves in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Dalhousie in Halifax, N.S.
She followed that up with a strong performance Friday night as the X-Women beat U SPORTS no. 5-ranked UNB by a score of 4-1. Bianca posted 17 saves in that game, improving her record to a perfect 10-0-0.
She currently leads the AUS (and is fifth in the nation) in goals against average at 1.26, and is second in conference in save percentage at .944.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Name: Derek Gentile
University: Saint Mary’s University
Sport: Men’s Hockey
Position: Forward
Hometown: Sydney, N.S.
Year of eligibility: Fourth
Academic program: MBA
Derek Gentile from the Saint Mary’s Huskies men’s hockey team is the Atlantic University Sport Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending Jan. 26, 2025.
A fourth-year forward from Sydney, N.S., Gentile was instrumental in two Huskies wins this past week.
In Wednesday’s 7-3 win over Acadia, he scored two goals, including the game winner.
In Friday 6-4 win over UPEI, he scored two more goals—including another game-winner—and added an assist.
Gentile now boasts a U SPORTS leading 37 points on the season. He sits second in the AUS conference in goals with 18 and third in assists with 21.
