COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The USA Hockey Foundation today announced the top-10 finalists for the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The honor is bestowed annually upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey, and this year will be unveiled at a brunch ceremony at Wentworth By The Sea in New Castle, New Hampshire, on Sat., March 19, as part of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of New Hampshire.
The top-10 finalists include: senior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie (Warroad, Minn./University of North Dakota), senior forward Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn./University of Minnesota), junior forward Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn./University of Minnesota), senior forward Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Boston College), senior forward Kendall Coyne (Palos Height, Ill./Northeastern University), junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que./University of Wisconsin), sophomore defenseman Megan Keller (Farmington, Mich./Boston College), junior defenseman Kelsey Koelzer (Horsham, Pa./Princeton University), sophomore forward Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif./University of Wisconsin), and senior forward Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md./Boston College).
For more information about all ten finalists, please click here.
The selection process commenced earlier this month when NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by two or more coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was sent back to the coaches to vote for the top-10 finalists. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.
The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The top-three finalists will be announced on Thurs., March 3.
Tickets to the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch can be purchased at PattyKaz.com. Individual seats to the event are $65, while tables of 12 are available for $700. A select number of sponsorships and program advertisements are also available.
Notes: Six schools are represented in the top-10, including three finalists from Boston College and two each for the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin … Among the top-10 finalists are six forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders, including five seniors, three juniors and two sophomores … Alex Carpenter has a chance to become the first player to repeat as the award winner and become only the second player to win it twice … Harvard’s Jennifer Botterill won it in 2001 and 2003 … Hannah Brandt has been a top-10 finalist in all four of her college seasons (2013-2016), including a top-three finalist last year … The Western Collegiate Hockey Association leads all conferences with five finalists, while the Hockey East Association boasts four finalists and ECAC Hockey has one finalist.
ABOUT THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement.
ABOUT PATTY KAZMAIER
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
