A total of 30 players are among the list of nominees for the 15th annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually to the top player in Division I women’s hockey.
Held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, the award will be awarded at a brunch ceremony on March 17 at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, Minn.
All 34 D-I women’s coaches were asked to nominate players for the award and each player had to be nominated by at least two coaches in order for her to make the official nomination list.
The 34 coaches will select the top 10 finalists from among the group of 30 nominees, with the announcement taking place on March 1. A 13-member selection committee will choose the three finalists (announced March 8), as well as the award recipient.
Twelve of the nominated players were also nominated in 2011, including top 10 finalists Laura Fortino (Cornell), Haley Irwin (Minnesota-Duluth), Rebecca Johnston (Cornell), Hilary Knight (Wisconsin) and Noora Räty (Minnesota), who was also a top 3 finalist in 2010. Bailey Bram (Mercyhurst) and Florence Schelling (Northeastern) were top 10 finalists in 2010.
| Player | Position | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christine Bestland | F | So. | Mercyhurst |
| Blake Bolden | D | Jr. | Boston College |
| Megan Bozek | D | Jr. | Minnesota |
| Bailey Bram | F | Sr. | Mercyhurst |
| Alex Carpenter | F | Fr. | Boston College |
| Kendall Coyne | F | Fr. | Northeastern |
| Brianna Decker | F | Jr. | Wisconsin |
| Jillian Dempsey | F | Jr. | Harvard |
| Laura Fortino | D | Jr. | Cornell |
| Thea Imbrogno | F | So. | Robert Morris |
| Haley Irwin | F | Sr. | Minnesota-Duluth |
| Brianne Jenner | F | So. | Cornell |
| Rebecca Johnston | F | Sr. | Cornell |
| Amanda Kessel | F | So. | Minnesota |
| Hilary Knight | F | So. | Wisconsin |
| Jocelyne Lamoureux | F | Jr. | North Dakota |
| Monique Lamoureux-Kolls | F/D | Jr. | North Dakota |
| Josephine Pucci | D | Jr. | Harvard |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | F | So. | Clarkson |
| Noora Raty | G | Jr. | Minnesota |
| Alex Rigsby | G | So. | Wisconsin |
| Lauriane Rougeau | D | Jr. | Cornell |
| Kelly Sabatine | F | Jr. | St. Lawrence |
| Florence Schelling | G | Sr. | Northeastern |
| Jen Schoullis | F | Sr. | Minnesota |
| Natalie Spooner | F | Sr. | Ohio State |
| Kelley Steadman | F | Jr. | Mercyhurst |
| Zuzana Tomcikova | G | Sr. | Bemidji State |
| Rebecca Vint | F | Fr. | Robert Morris |
| Jenn Wakefield | F | Sr. | Boston University |
