COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The USA Hockey Foundation today announced the ten finalists for the 2020 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 Royal Sonseta Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday, March 21, as part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend hosted by Boston University.
The ten finalists include: senior defender Jaime Bourbonnais (Mississaugua, Ont./Cornell University), junior goaltender Lindsay Browning (Penfield, N.Y./Cornell University), sophomore forward Sarah Fillier (Georgetown, Ont./Princeton University), junior goaltender Aerin Frankel (New York, N.Y./Northeastern University), junior forward Elizabeth Giguere (Quebec City, Que./Clarkson University), junior forward Emma Maltais (Burlington, Ont./Ohio State University), sophomore forward Alina Mueller (Winterthur, Switzerland/Northeastern University), senior forward Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich./University of Wisconsin), sophomore forward Sophie Shirley (Saskatoon, Sask./University of Wisconsin) and junior forward Daryl Watts (Toronto, Ont./University of Wisconsin).
For more information about the ten finalists, please click here.
SELECTION PROCESS
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 multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was sent back to the coaches to vote for the ten finalists. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.
The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2020 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 Thursday, Feb. 27.
Tickets to the 2020 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch can be purchased at PattyKaz.com. Individual seats to the event are $65, while tables of 10 are available for $600. A select number of sponsorships and program advertisements are also available.
Notes: Six schools are represented in the top 10 ... Among the top 10 finalists are seven forwards, one defender and two goaltenders, including two seniors, five juniors, and three sophomores … the WCHA and ECAC each have four finalists, while the Hockey East Association boasts two finalists.
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.
