Ten finalists named for 2024 Patty Kazmaier Award as top player in NCAA Division I women’s college hockey

Ohio State’s Sophie Jaques won the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Award (photo: Ohio State Athletics).

The 10 finalists for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award were announced Thursday by the USA Hockey Foundation.

The honor, which was first presented in 1998, is awarded annually to the top play in NCAA Division I women’s hockey by the foundation.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

Izzy Daniel, Forward, Senior, Cornell
Sarah Fillier, Forward, Senior, Princeton
Caroline Harvey, Defender, Sophomore, Wisconsin
Abby Hustler, Forward, Junior, St. Lawrence
Tessa Janecke, Forward, Sophomore, Penn State
Abbey Murphy, Forward, Junior, Minnesota
Casey O’Brien, Forward, Senior, Wisconsin
Gwyneth Philips, Goaltender, Fifth Year, Northeastern
Danielle Serdachny, Forward, Fifth Year, Colgate
Kirsten Simms, Forward, Sophomore, Wisconsin

The top three finalists are expected to be announced on March 13, with the winner being revealed on March 23 as the highlight of Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four in Durham, N.H.

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 from 1981 to 1986. 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.