Graduate student Sarah Thompson was presented the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award by the Hockey Humanitarian Foundation during a ceremony on Friday night at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, Mo. at the Men's Frozen Four.

Thompson is the 30th honoree of the award. She becomes the first from St. Lawrence University to be honored and is the 12th female and the seventh ECAC Hockey student-athlete to receive this prestigious award. She was recognized during Friday night at NCAA Men's Frozen Four awards ceremonies, alongside the recipients of the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, the Mike Richter Award and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

A native of Orleans, Ontario, was one of five finalists joining Keri Clougherty of Boston College, Kendra Fortin of Bemidji State University, Hank Kempf of Cornell University, and Raice Szott of Merrimack College.

"I'm incredibly honored to be selected among such an inspiring group of finalists," said Thompson. "As student-athletes, we have a powerful platform to create meaningful change, and I feel so fortunate to have done that through Sticks Together. What started as a simple desire to give back has grown into something much bigger, allowing me to share the game of hockey with communities around the world. Seeing a child's face light up as they score their first goal is a feeling I'll never forget. None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our donors, sponsors, mentors, my team, and my family—thank you for helping make Sticks Together what it is today."

Thompson, who was a finalist in 2023 and 2024, started a not-for-profit foundation called 'Sticks Together', while she was an undergrad at Syracuse University. Her love for the game stems from the many hours spent outside playing street hockey with her peers. Her belief that hockey has no boundaries fueled her desire to give back, share her love for the sport and bridge cultural gaps around the world.

"This is such a great moment for Sarah and all of the people associated with Sticks Together," said head coach Chris Wells. "She has built a sustainable organization that provides great opportunities for the game we all love! In just one year at SLU, she has made such an impact on our program. Her maturity and thoughtfulness have been experienced by all of us and her unselfish attitude will be remembered here long after she has graduated. She doesn't do any of this for any other reason, but to spread goodwill. She doesn't want any recognition for it, but she deserves to be getting every bit of it for all she has done."

The brainstorming began before the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today. The pause in moving forward because of COVID strengthened her passion and conviction to launch the initiative and she has not stopped working to grow the project ever sense. She has led humanitarian trips to Argentina (2022) and South Africa (2023) and the Philippines (2024).

Sticks Together aims to provide the necessary resources to give children in underprivileged communities the opportunity to learn and play the sport of hockey. As a part of the initiative, we donate recycled hockey equipment and teach the game to students around the world. Our vision is to give children an escape from their everyday life and share the joy of playing sport with young children who may not have the opportunity otherwise.  

"Sarah has truly modeled the way by bring joy to underprivileged youths around the world," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Franco Bari. "Her meaningful contributions and selfless efforts have not only transcended her abilities to teach the game of hockey, but she has clearly demonstrated the quality of being an ambassador of positive impact while providing life changing experiences."

This season at St. Lawrence, Thompson has played center in 38 games for the Scarlet and Brown and tallied two goals, two assists, blocked 11 shots and won 99 faceoffs. During her time at Syracuse, she earned 2022 and 2023 American Hockey Coaches Association All-America Scholar recognition, was a 2021, 2022 and 2023 College Hockey America All-Academic Team selection and has been on the Syracuse Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester. She played 121 games for the Orange, tallying 29 goals and 20 assists for 49 points. She scored eight power-play goals and three game winners.

The Hockey Humanitarian Award is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism. 

On Friday night, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation presented Thompson and her Sticks Together Foundation with a check for $3,000. The other four finalists each received $500 for their respective designated charities. These donations from the HHA Foundation are made possible through the generous support of the awards partners and donors.

You can find out more about Sticks Together at stickstogether.org.