College Hockey:
Minnesota trio named finalists for Patty Kazmaier Award

USCHO Staff Report • March 7, 2013

For the first time ever, all three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award are from the same team.

Minnesota senior defenseman Megan Bozek, junior forward Amanda Kessel and senior goaltender Noora Räty have guided the Gophers to a perfect 36-0-0 record this season and an NCAA-record 44-game winning streak, dating back to last season.

Bozek, also Minnesota’s captain, has 18 goals and 52 points in 34 games, while Kessel, also a finalist in 2012, has posted 43 goals and 51 assists in 32 games, nearly a three-points-per-game average.

Räty is 33-0-0 with a 0.93 goals-against average, a .956 save percentage and an NCAA-record 15 shutouts.

The Kazmaier Award, now in its 16th season, will be presented at a brunch ceremony on Saturday, March 23, at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis during the women’s Frozen Four weekend.

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Cam
Bozek isn’t even the best defenseman in her own conference. For some reason that player was left out of the top ten (Monique Lamoureux)
- mahogma
  Monique Lamoureux ;+34 / Megan Bozek; +57 57>34 Bozek was also honored as the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
  - patrickolson
    Well said. I’m not sure what angle Cam is taking that suggest Monique is better…
  - UND_Hockey_10
    You are overlooking one thing. You could replace Bozek with a 12 year old girl and she would still go +30, thats how talented the gophers are. Replace Mo Lam with that same 12 year old girl she probably goes -10. Its easy to look at Bozeks +/- and give her the credit, but look at the impact of said individual. Mo Lam is more important to UND than Bozek is to UM
    - patrickolson
      It is very true that Mo Lam was probably more important to NoDak than Bozek was to MN. That would work in her favor for an MVP award in the most true sense. That’s not what this is. It also doesn’t explain why the WCHA head COACHES voted Bozek best defender…and not MoLam.
    - mahogma
      OK,so that makes her North Dakota’s MVP.
  - http://www.facebook.com/jon.voigt.10 Jon Voigt
    Plus minus is the worst statistic on the planet.
- Bryan Knutson
  How did that transfer work out for the Lamoureux’s????
  - http://www.facebook.com/jon.voigt.10 Jon Voigt
    Well, they are 1st and 2nd all time in WCHA scoring. You tell me.
- AR
  If you compare defense to defense; head to head. Bozek (who was most likely out against JLam – most of the game) and MJam (who would be out with Kessel – most of the game). You see who was more ‘shutdown’; JLam only put up 2pts in 5 games against the MN; Kessel put up 14pts in just 4 games against UND. I know there is still the goalie and other players in this mix, but a top line defensemen plays a huge part
http://www.facebook.com/yh.gfdg Yh Gfdg
wow, the coachers must really be jealous of those lamoureux twins. unbelievable. : O
http://www.facebook.com/yh.gfdg Yh Gfdg
*coaches
Joe
How ’bout a 3-way tie?
UND_Hockey_10
To take nothing away from the 3 Gopher players who made the finals here, but it is somewhat upsetting that Jo Lam didnt make the finals. She is 2nd in points behind Kessel. Yes I get that the finalists are a F, D and G here, but lets compare the two teams… The Gophers are far and away the best team in the county so naturally the points and wins come easy for them. Jo Lam takes an average team and makes them a title game contender with her sister. I just think she deserves a little more credit for her season.
- Brent Sucks
  The wins simply LOOK easy because Minnesota’s players are executing at a very high level. Hence, they are being recognized – which is the whole point of this award.

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