2020 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Finalists announced
Will we see the second two-time Patty Kaz winner?
USA Hockey recently announced the Top 10 Finalists for the 2020 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The winner of the annual honor given to the best women’s hockey player in the country will be announced on March 21 during the Frozen Four in Boston.
This year’s list is made up of three sophomores, five juniors, and two seniors. Only one defender and two goaltenders made the Top 10. Three of last year’s finalists are in the group again, and the 2018 winner Daryl Watts is nominated again after not being in the Top 10 last year.
Top 10 Finalists
| Name | Year | Position | School | Conference | Previous Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Bourbonnais | senior | defender | Cornell | ECAC | |
| Lindsay Browning | junior | goaltender | Cornell | ECAC | |
| Sarah Fillier | sophomore | forward | Princeton | ECAC | 2019 top 10 |
| Aerin Frankel | junior | goaltender | Northeastern | Hockey East | |
| Elizabeth Giguere | junior | forward | Clarkson | ECAC | 2019 top 10 |
| Emma Maltais | junior | forward | Ohio State | WCHA | |
| Alina Muller | sophomore | forward | Northeastern | Hockey East | 2019 top 10 |
| Abby Roque | senior | forward | Wisconsin | WCHA | |
| Sophie Shirley | sophomore | forward | Wisconsin | WCHA | |
| Daryl Watts | junior | forward | Wisconsin | WCHA | 2018 winner |
If Watts wins - which she is heavily favored for given her insane stat line of 24 goals and 49 assists for 73 points or 2.15 points per game this season - she would become the second player in history to win twice and the only player to win at two different schools. Jennifer Botterill is the only player to have won the Patty Kazmaier twice - 2001 and 2003 while at Harvard.
Both goaltenders are strong contenders as well. Browning currently holds the only goals against average below 1.00 in Division I at .80. Frankel isn’t far behind her with a GAA of 1.08. Their save percentages are nearly equal. Frankel just barely edges out Browning at .959 to .957. If either win, she would be the fourth goaltender in the 22 year history of the award, joining Ali Brewster (2000), Jessie Vetter (2009), and Ann-Renee Desbiens (2017).
The Top 10 finalists list is voted on by Division 1 coaches. They were asked to nominate players, and any player nominated multiple times was placed on a ballot.
The winner, and three finalists, are voted on by a 13-person committee.
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