The Patty Kazmaier Award

An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is given annually to the women's intercollegiate varsity hockey player who displays the highest standards of personal and team excellence during the season.

The list of Kazmaier winners has a distinctively Crimson tint as Harvard has captured six of the 15 awards since its inception in 1998. Now in its 16th year of existence, the inaugural Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was presented to New Hampshire forward Brandy Fisher.

A.J. Mleczko was the winner in 1999 after she leading the nation with 114 points. After Brown goaltender Ali Brewer earned the award in 2000, Crimson forward Jennifer Botterill added her name to the list in 2001. Botterill was the first underclassman and first Canadian to be named the Kazmaier winner. In addition, Tammy Shewchuk was a finalist for the award in 2001, marking the first time that one school had two of the three finalists.

The 2003 season marked the second time that Harvard had two of the three finalists. Angela Ruggiero, also a candidate in 1999 and 2000, was a top three finalist, while Botterill became the first repeat winner in the Award's history. Ruggiero made it four for the Crimson when she was named the Kazmaier winner in March of 2004 after becoming the all-time leader in collegiate defensemen scoring and helping Harvard to a 109-13-5 record during her career.

Nicole Corriero of the Crimson was a top-10 finalist for the 2005 award, won by Minnesota's Krissy Wendell. Sara Bauer of Wisconsin won the award in 2006. All-America forward Julie Chu '06-07 continued Harvard's near-monopoly on the award when she took the 2007 Kazmaier trophy. Chu led the nation in scoring in her senior year, finishing with 18 goals, 48 assists and 66 points.

In 2008, another Harvard forward won the trophy, as Sarah Vaillancourt '08-09 took home the award after leading her team to the Frozen Four. Vaillancourt concluded her season with 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points. The All-America junior was also the ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year and helped the Crimson to an NCAA record 21-game winning streak.  Vaillancourt was also a finalist for the award in 2009, which was captured by Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter.

The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, a four-year varsity letterwinner and All-Ivy League honoree for the Princeton University women's ice hockey team from 1981-82 through 1985-86. An accomplished athlete who excelled in hockey, field hockey and lacrosse and led the Tigers to three-straight Ivy League women's hockey titles, Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990 at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

Candidates for the award must compete for a women's intercollegiate varsity hockey team at an NCAA-member institution. Other selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the "clutch," personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. The finalists are chosen by a 13-member selection committee comprised of women's intercollegiate varsity hockey coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media, and a representative of USA Hockey.