Kazmaier Finalists Announced

The announcement was made by USA Hockey Foundation President Walter L. Bush, Jr. and the executive committee of The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award which, in addition to Bush, includes: Jim Erickson, Bob Fallen, Cammi Granato, Laura Halldorson, Julie Sasner and Ben Smith.

An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recognizes the accomplishments of the most outstanding player in women’s intercollegiate varsity ice hockey each season.

The Award will be presented at the annual dinner. This year’s award dinner will be held the evening of Saturday, March 23 in Portsmouth, N.H., at the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth.

Individual dinner tickets are priced at $100.00 for adults and $50.00 for children 12 and under. Tickets, in addition to incremental levels of dinner sponsorship, may be purchased by calling The USA Hockey Foundation at (800) 566-3288, ext. 165; or Steve Burke at (617) 373-8952. Individual tickets and sponsorship packages are tax-deductible.

Earlier this year, The USA Hockey Foundation asked women’s Division I intercollegiate varsity ice hockey coaches to nominate up to two players from their team for The 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Those players were placed on an official ballot and sent to the coaches who then voted for the top 10 finalists. The official ballots were tabulated by the nationally respected accounting firm of Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP.

The finalists, as well as the recipient of The 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, are chosen by a 12-member selection committee comprised of women’s intercollegiate varsity ice hockey coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media, and a representative of USA Hockey, the National Governing Body for the sport of hockey in the United States.

Candidates for the award must compete for a women’s intercollegiate varsity ice hockey team at an NCAA-member institution. Other selection criteria include outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration will also be given to academic achievement and civic involvement.

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was first presented to University of New Hampshire forward Brandy Fisher in 1998. Harvard University forward and two-time U.S. Olympian A.J. Mleczko received the accolade in 1999, and Brown University goaltender Ali Brewer was the 2000 recipient. In 2001, Harvard forward and 2002 Canadian Olympian Jennifer Botterill was honored with the award.

The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman for the Princeton University women’s ice hockey team from 1981-82 through 1985-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-82 through 1983-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990 at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

The Finalists

Ronda Curtin, D/F, Jr., Minnesota

A player of unparalleled versatility, Ronda Curtin saw action at both defense and forward while leading the Minnesota Golden Gophers to the 2001-02 WCHA regular-season title for the second consecutive year.

Curtin completed the 2001-02 regular season with 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists) in 34 games, making her the only defender in history to lead the conference in regular-season scoring. She also led the WCHA in assists (34) and power-play points (21). In addition, Curtin garnered WCHA Player Of The Week honors three times during the 2001-02 campaign, making her the only women’s ice hockey player in school history to notch three such accolades in a single season.

She went on to notch two goals in WCHA playoff action, helping the Golden Gophers earn the WCHA Playoff Championship.

She was also recently named the 2002 WCHA Player of the Year, the WCHA Defensive Player of the year, a WCHA First Team selection and the WCHA Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Carly Haggard, F, Jr., Dartmouth

Carly Haggard finished the 2001-02 regular season as one of the top forwards in women’s college ice hockey, leading the nation with 62 points (33 goals, 29 assists) in 28 games, including pacing the ECAC-North League with 38 points (25 goals, 13 assists) in 16 league contests.

During the regular season, she also led the nation in goals (33) and goals-per-game (1.18), and ranked second in the nation with 1.04 assists-per-game. Her efforts helped the Big Green earn the 2001-02 ECAC-North League regular-season title, as well as the 2001-02 Ivy League crown for the second consecutive year.

Maintaining her scoring touch in the postseason, Haggard registered an eight-point performance (four goals, four assists) in two games against Colgate University in the quarterfinal round of the 2002 ECAC Championship to help lead Dartmouth to the semifinal round.

A three-time 2001-02 ECAC Player of the Week honoree, Haggard most recently won the award for the week of March 4, when she notched a hat trick in a decisive victory against St. Lawrence that gave the Big Green the ECAC-North regular-season title.

She was recently named the 2001-02 women’s hockey Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Brown senior Kristy Zamora. Haggard was also named First Team All-Ivy.

Brooke Whitney, F, Sr., Northeastern

Brooke Whitney established herself as one of the premier players in women’s college hockey during the 2001-02 campaign, finishing the regular season as the leading scorer in the Eastern College Athletic Conference-Eastern League, with 53 points (31 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games.

In addition, she ranked third in the nation in points (53) and goals-per game average (0.97), tied for first with three shorthanded goals, and led all players in the nation with eight game-winning goals at the conclusion of the regular season. During 2001-02, Whitney also became only the fifth player in Northeastern history to record at least 30 goals in a season, and was named the ECAC-Eastern League Player of the Week three times.

In the postseason, Whitney tallied two assists in one game against Boston College in the quarterfinal round of 2002 ECAC-Eastern League Championship, helping the Huskies advance to a semifinal berth.

Whitney was one of 44 players at the 2001 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival last August, which served as the selection camp for the 2001-02 USA Hockey Women’s National Team.