Patty Kazmaier Finalists Announced

On Thursday, the USA Hockey Foundation announced the ten finalists for this year’s Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top player in women’s college hockey.

The University of Wisconsin leads the way with three nominees, while top-ranked Cornell, and Northeastern each have two finalists.

Here are the finalists:

Daryl Watts, who currently leads the nation in scoring with 67 points in 32 games, could potentially join Harvard’s Jennifer Botterrill as the only player win the Patty Kaz twice. Watts won the award as a freshman in 2018 with Boston College, before transferring to Wisconsin this season.

It’s a wide open race though. Watts’ two linemates at Wisconsin deserve as much credit as she does for her production. Alina Mueller and Aerin Frankel have turned in an unprecedented season for Northeastern. Cornell’s stout defense play led by Bourbonnais and Browning has vaulted Cornell to the #1 ranking in the Pairwise. Elizabeth Giguere is a multi-time finalist. And Emma Maltais and Sarah Fillier are dynamic offensive talents that give their team a chance to win every night against anyone.