The USA Hockey Foundation announced Thursday the 10 finalists for the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The honor is awarded annually upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey and this year will be unveiled at a brunch ceremony at Wentworth By The Sea in New Castle, N.H., on Saturday, March 19, as part of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four weekend hosted by New Hampshire.
In early February, the selection process began when NCAA Division I women’s 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.
| Player's Name | Position | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Amsley-Benzie | G | Sr. | North Dakota |
| Hannah Brandt | F | Sr. | Minnesota |
| Dani Cameranesi | F | Jr. | Minnesota |
| Alex Carpenter | F | Sr. | Boston College |
| Kendall Coyne | F | Sr. | Northeastern |
| Ann-Renee Desbiens | G | Jr. | Wisconsin |
| Megan Keller | D | So. | Boston College |
| Kelsey Koelzer | D | Jr. | Princeton |
| Annie Pankowski | F | So. | Wisconsin |
| Haley Skarupa | F | Sr. | Boston College |
The three finalists, including the recipient of the award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women’s hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey.
Brandt has been a top-10 finalist all four years of her NCAA career and Carpenter has a chance to become the first player to repeat as the winner and the second to win the award twice (Harvard’s Jennifer Botterill, 2001 and 2003).
The top three finalists will be announced on Thursday, March 3.
