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2016 Patty Kaz Award Top-3 Finalists Announced

03/03/2016, 9:00am MST
By USAHockey.com

Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne and Ann-Renee Desbiens Have Been Named Top-Three Finalists

Senior forward Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Boston College), senior forward Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill./Northeastern University) and junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que./University of Wisconsin) have been named top-three finalists for the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, it was announced today by USA Hockey.

Alex Carpenter

Forward • North Reading, Mass.
Boston College • Senior

Is looking to become the first back-to-back recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, and only the second player to win the award twice … Is in the top two of nearly every NCAA statistical scoring category, and currently leads the nation in assists (39), power-play assists (16) and power-play points (24) … Her 535 faceoff wins are over 100 more than the second leading player, giving her a nation-best .703 faceoff percentage … The Boston College captain led her team to only the second undefeated regular season in NCAA history with a perfect 34-0-0 record … Set all-time Hockey East career assists record (84) … Her 76 career goals and 160 career points put her at second all-time in league scoring history … Holds Boston College career records in points (267), goals (128), assists (139), game-winning goals (26), power-play goals (25) and shots on goal (820) … Broke her own program record for most single-season points (77) … Named HEA Player of the Week eight times and HEA Player of the Month twice … Also volunteers with Boston College’s Campus School, HEAR Program, BC Connell School of Nursing and IMPACT program.

Kendall Coyne

Forward • Palos Heights, Ill.
Northeastern University • Senior

Currently is national leader in goals (49), points (82), goals per game (2.34), points per game (2.34), shorthanded goals (5), hat tricks (5) and plus/minus (+64) … Rewrote the Hockey East record book by becoming all-time leader in career points (167), surpassing the previous record prior to this season by 39 points … Also became all-time league leader in career goals (91), single-season points (55), single-season goals (30), points per game (2.39) and goals per game (1.30) … The Northeastern captain is the program’s all-time leader in career points (247), career goals (140) and single-season points (82) … Ranked second in league history in career assists (76) and third all-time in single-season assists (25) … Named HEA Player of the Week seven times and HEA Player of the Month three times … Earned Northeastern ‘Top Dog’ honors during fall 2015 semester for earning a GPA of 3.8 or higher … Off the ice, volunteers her time with Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Cradles to Crayons, Bonnie’s Foundation, Julie Foundation, YMCA, Chicago Blackhawks Youth Hockey camps and Chicago area schools.

Ann-Renee Desbiens

Goaltender • La Malbaie, Que.
University of Wisconsin • Junior

Is the current national leader in goals-against average (0.77), save percentage (.958) and shutouts (18) … Ranked second in the NCAA in wins (20) and win percentage (.897) … Her 18 shutouts this season set a new NCAA record … Also set an NCAA record with a scoreless streak of 543:33 over a span of 10 games, which included eight shutouts … Has 35 career shutouts for the third-most in NCAA history … Her 10 shutouts in conference play are a University of Wisconsin single-season record … Set a University of Wisconsin record with a .945 career save percentage … Has eight wins against ranked teams this season … Her .077 goals-against average is more than .5 less than the next leading WCHA goaltender … Opened the season with a 16-game win streak and posted a 12-game win streak also (Jan. 8-Feb. 14) … Allowed one goal or less in 29 of her 34 games … Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week five times, WCHA Defensive Player of the Month twice and American Sports Network National Player of the Week twice … Has volunteered with Make Bo Pay and the American Family Children’s Hospital.


The 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony at Wentworth By The Sea in New Castle, New Hampshire on Sat., March 19, as part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of New Hampshire. The award, which is in its 19th year, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.

The selection process commenced in early February 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 three finalists, including the recipient of the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, were then 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 independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.

Tickets to the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch can be purchased here. Individual seats to the event are $65, while tables of 12 are available for $700. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation. For more information about Patty Kazmaier and the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, please visit PattyKaz.com.

About the Patty Kazmaier Award

An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. 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.

About Patty Kazmaier

The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

Past Recipients

Year Name School Position Hometown
2015 Alex Carpenter Boston College Forward North Reading, Mass.
2014 Jamie Lee Rattray Clarkson University Forward Kanata, Ont.
2013 Amanda Kessel University of Minnesota Forward Madison, Wis.
2012 Brianna Decker University of Wisconsin Forward Dousman, Wis.
2011 Meghan Duggan University of Wisconsin Forward Danvers, Mass.
2010 Vicki Bendus Mercyhurst College Forward Wasaga Beach, Ont.
2009 Jessie Vetter University of Wisconsin Goaltender Cottage Grove, Wis.
2008 Sarah Vaillancourt Harvard University  Forward Sherbrooke, Que.
2007 Julie Chu Harvard University Forward Fairfield, Conn.
2006 Sara Bauer University of Wisconsin Forward St. Catharines, Ont.
2005 Krissy Wendell University of Minnesota Forward Brooklyn Park, Minn.
2004 Angela Ruggiero Harvard University Defenseman Harper Woods, Mich.
2003 Jennifer Botterill Harvard University Forward Winnipeg, Man.
2002 Brooke Whitney Northeastern University Forward Snohomish, Wash.
2001 Jennifer Botterill Harvard University Forward Winnipeg, Man.
2000 Ali Brewer Brown University Goaltender Racine, Wis.
1999 A.J. Mleczko Harvard University Forward Nantucket, Mass.
1998 Brandy Fisher University of New Hampshire Forward Potsdam, N.Y.

Four-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero will give the keynote address and two-time Olympian AJ Mleczko will serve as master of ceremonies at the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch. Both are past winners of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award with Mleczko winning in 1999 and Ruggiero in 2004.

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