The USA Hockey Foundation Monday announced 10 candidates for the 2007 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in women’s college hockey.
The 10 candidates represent eight different schools, as Harvard and Wisconsin each have two candidates. The WCHA and ECACHL are the most represented conferences with four selections each.
Earlier this year, each Division I women’s coach nominated up to two players from his or her team for the Kazmaier Award, and the coaches then voted for the top 10 candidates. Coaches were allowed to write in votes for players who were not nominated this season, but no write-in candidate made the Final 10.
According to USA Hockey, three finalists, and finally the recipient, will be chosen by a 13-member selection committee, which includes eight coaches, four media representatives, and one USA Hockey representative. The final three will be announced March 5.
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.
The 2007 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony on March 17, in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Tickets to the event may be purchased at pattykaz.com or by calling 800-566-3288, ext. 169 ($60/individual seats, $500/table of 10).
Five previous winners of the award will be in attendance at this year’s ceremony, including three-time U.S. Olympian Angela Ruggiero, two-time Olympian A.J. Mleczko, the inaugural award recipient Brandy Fisher, last year’s award winner Sara Bauer, and the first goaltender to win the award Ali Brewer.
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 Princeton 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 on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
Meghan Agosta
Forward • Freshman • Mercyhurst College • Ruthven, Ont.
Second in the NCAA with 63 points in 30 games … Leads the nation with 33 goals and is eighth nationally with 30 assists … Tied for first in the NCAA with 16 power-play goals and leads the country with five shorthanded tallies … Third nationally with 2.10 points per game, while leading the nation’s rookies in the same category … Has 20 multi-point games … Her 16 power-play goals, eight game-winners and 33 goals are all single-season Mercyhurst records … Her 63 points to date ties the Mercyhurst single-season record … Is tops in College Hockey America with 24 points and 12 goals in 10 league games … Leads the conference with 12 power-play points and seven power-play goals … Named USCHO National Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 30 … Named CHA Player of the Week three times (Nov. 20, Dec. 11, Jan. 29) and Rookie of the Week five times (Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Dec. 4, Jan. 15, Feb. 5) … Volunteers with school phone-a-thon … Helped raise money for breast cancer.
Gillian Apps
Forward • Senior • Dartmouth College • Toronto, Ont.
Team captain … Tied for 11th in the NCAA with 42 points in 27 games and tied for second with 29 goals … Tied for the nation’s lead with eight game-winning goals … Ninth in the nation with 1.56 points per game and third with 1.03 goals per game … Is seventh on Dartmouth’s all-time scoring list … Team is 19-1-2 when she records a point … Fifth in the ECAC Hockey League with 34 points in 20 league games and ranks second with 23 goals … Leads the conference with seven game-winning goals … Named ECACHL Player of the Week twice (Jan. 8, Jan. 29) … Volunteers with Big Green Readers program, aimed at helping local youth learn to read … Works with Kids and Caps, where she volunteers with young athletes … Involved in Right to Play, an organization that helps give children in other countries the opportunity to play sports.
Sara Bauer
Forward • Senior • University of Wisconsin • St. Catharine’s, Ont.
Alternate captain … Third in the NCAA with 62 points in 34 games … Second in the country with 40 assists and is tied for 13th with 22 goals … Ranks fifth in the nation with 1.82 points per game and third with 1.18 assists per game … Team is 26-0-1 when she has a point … Leads the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 51 points, 35 assists and 21 power-play points (5-14) in 28 league games … Named USCHO National Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 13 … Named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week three times (Dec. 5, Jan. 29, Feb. 12) … Involved in local wheel chair hockey program … Visits the local children’s hospital … Serves as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative at Wisconsin.
Tessa Bonhomme
Defenseman • Junior • The Ohio State University • Sudbury, Ont.
Serving as team co-captain … Tied for 34th in the NCAA with 34 points in 30 games and is tied for 26th with 20 assists … Tied for 33rd in the nation with 1.13 points per game, good for third in the country among defensemen … Has nine multi-point games … Tied for 19th in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 23 points (9-14) in 24 league games … Named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week three times (Oct. 10, Nov. 28, Jan. 2) … Volunteers with Race for the Cure … Visits the local children’s hospital and reads at local schools.
Julie Chu
Forward • Senior • Harvard University • Fairfield, Conn.
Team co-captain … Ranks first in the NCAA with 64 points and 47 assists in 26 games … Leads the nation with 2.46 points per game and 1.81 assists per game … Has scored at least one point in 25 of 26 games … Is Harvard’s all-time leader in assists (195) … Ranks third in Harvard career scoring, behind two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner Jennifer Botterill and Tammy Shewchuk … Leads the ECAC Hockey League in points (53), assists (37) and power-play points (5-22-27) in 20 league games … Named ECACHL Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 8 … Volunteers at UniLu homeless shelter … Serves as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative … Member of Athletes in Action and Women’s Sports Foundation … Does public speaking at local elementary schools.
Martine Garland
Defenseman • Junior • University of New Hampshire • Toronto, Ont.
Team captain … Tied for 17th in the NCAA with 23 assists in 31 games … Ranks 10th among the nation’s defensemen with .94 points per game (6-23-29) … Holds a team-best +30 rating … Anchors a New Hampshire defense that has allowed 1.48 goals per game, which is third best in the nation … Has recorded at least a point in 20 of 30 games … Tied for 21st in Hockey East with 14 points (2-12) in 18 league games, which is good for third among the league’s defensemen … … Presidential scholar at New Hampshire … Involved in the D.A.R.E. program.
Sabrina Harbec
Forward • Junior • St. Lawrence University • St. Hubert, Que.
Fourth in the NCAA with 59 points in 32 games and is tied for seventh with 23 goals and third with 36 assists … Tied for second nationally with three shorthanded markers … Ranks fourth in the nation with 1.84 points per game and 1.12 assists per game … Third in the ECAC Hockey League with 41 points and 24 assists in 22 league games and tied for fifth with 17 goals … Leads the conference with three shorthanded goals … Named ECAC Hockey League Player of the Week twice (Dec. 11, Jan. 15) … Involved in “Buddies” program, working with local elementary school children.
Noemie Marin
Forward • Senior • University of Minnesota Duluth • Acton-Vale, Que.
Team captain … Tied for 11th in the NCAA with 42 points in 32 games … Tied for 16th in the country with 21 goals and tied for 23rd with 21 assists … Tied for 14th in the nation with eight power-play tallies … Tied for 16th overall with 1.31 points per game … Second in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 41 points in 28 league games … Leads the league with 21 goals and tied for fifth with 20 assists … Tied for fourth in the WCHA with 17 power-play points and is tied for second with eight power-play goals … Volunteered in the soup kitchen program at Minnesota Duluth … Volunteers with local youth hockey teams … Participated in the Buddy Walk to support the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota …Served as a member on the organizing committee for Relay for Life 2006.
Meaghan Mikkelson
Defenseman • Senior • University of Wisconsin • St. Albert, Alta.
Tied for 11th in the NCAA with 42 points in 34 games and tied for sixth with 32 assists … Second in the country with 1.24 points per game among defensemen and ninth overall with .94 assists per game … Anchors Wisconsin defense that allows a nation’s best 1.00 goals per game and boasts 13 shutouts, which ties the school record … Leads Western Collegiate Hockey Association defensemen with 33 points in 28 league games and is fifth overall … Tied for second in the league with 24 assists … Second in the WCHA with 19 power-play points (5-14) … Named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week twice (Dec. 5, Jan. 9) … Volunteers at the local children’s hospital … Works with the local wheel chair hockey program.
Sarah Vaillancourt
Forward • Sophomore • Harvard University • Sherbrooke, Que.
Fifth in the NCAA with 53 points in 25 games … Tied for second in the nation with 29 goals and tied for 12th with 24 assists … Fifth in the nation with 13 power-play tallies … Ranks second in the country with 2.12 points per game, first with 1.16 goals per game and eighth with .96 assists per game … Has four hat tricks this season, including a five-goal game and a four-goal game … Ranks 12th on Harvard’s career scoring chart … Leads the ECAC Hockey League with 24 goals, and is fourth with 37 points in 18 league games … Tied for second in the league with 18 power-play points and second with 10 power-play goals … Named USCHO National Offensive Player of the Week on Dec. 5 … President of Honor at children’s hospital in Quebec … President of Honor at a diabetes foundation in Quebec … Serves as a public speaker at local elementary schools.
Statistics through Feb. 18
