USA Hockey announced the 10 The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalists last week and Thursday, they narrowed the field to three.
The finalists for the award honoring the best female collegiate hockey player are Boston College forward Alex Carpenter, Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne and University of Wisconsin junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Coyne may be the favorite to win the award, leading the country in goals (49), points (82), goals per game (2.34), shorthanded goals (5), hat tricks (5) and plus/minus (+64).
She also became the all-time leader in career points for Hockey East with 167.
If Carpenter wins she would become the first back-to-back winner and just the second player to ever win the award twice. Harvard’s Jennifer Botterill won the award in 2001 and 2003. She ranks in the top two in the nation in assists (39) and has more over 100 more faceoff wins than any other player in the nation, carrying a .703 faceoff percentage.
Desbiens leads the country with a 0.77 goals against average, a .958 save percentage and 18 shutouts. Those 18 shutouts set a NCAA record, as did her 543:33 shutout streak that last 10 games and included eight shutouts.
Among the 10 finalists who were not named to this group were the University of Minnesota’s Hannah Brandt, University of North Dakota goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie, University of Minnesota forward Dani Cameranesi, Boston College’s Megan Keller, Princeton defenseman Kelsey Koelzer, University of Wisconsin forward Annie Pankowski and Boston College senior Haley Skarupa.
The Award winner will be announced during a ceremony in New Castle, New Hamp. on Saturday, Mar. 19, during the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four weekend.
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