COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The USA Hockey Foundation today announced the top-10 finalists for the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The honor is bestowed annually upon the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey and this year will be unveiled at a brunch ceremony at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sat., March 21, as part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of Minnesota.
The top-10 finalists include: junior (redshirt) goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie (Warroad, Minnesota/University of North Dakota); junior forward Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minnesota/University of Minnesota); sophomore forward Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minnesota/University of Minnesota); junior forward Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Massachusetts/Boston College); junior forward Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Illinois/Northeastern University); senior forward Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ontario/Cornell University); senior defenseman Emily Pfalzer (Getzville, New York/Boston College); senior forward Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Quebec/Boston University); senior defenseman Rachel Ramsey (Chanhassen, Minnesota/University of Minnesota) and junior forward Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Maryland/Boston College). Complete player profiles are available here.
The selection process commenced earlier this month when NCAA Division I women's ice 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. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.
The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and a representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The top-3 finalists will be announced on Thursday, March 5.
Tickets to the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch can be purchased at PattyKaz.com. Individual seats to the event are $65, while tables of 10 are available for $600. A select number of sponsorships and program advertisements are also available. More information can be found here. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation.
NOTES: Six schools are represented in the top-10, including three finalists from both Boston College and the University of Minnesota ... Among the top-10 finalists are seven forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender, including five juniors, four seniors and one sophomore ... Hannah Brandt was also a top-10 finalist in 2013 and 2014 ... The Hockey East Association leads all conferences with five finalists, while the Western Collegiate Hockey Association boast four finalists and ECAC Hockey is represented with one finalist ... For more information about the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, please visit PattyKaz.com.
