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Top-3 Finalists Named for 2018 Patty Kazmaier Award

03/01/2018, 11:30am MST
By USA Hockey

Bach, Gabel and Watts Named Top-3 Finalists

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Senior foward Victoria Bach (Milton, Ont./Boston University), junior forward Loren Gabel (Exeter, Ont./Clarkson University) and freshman forward Daryl Watts (Toronto, Ont./Boston College) have been named the top-three finalists for the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, it was announced today by USA Hockey.

Victoria Bach

Forward • Boston University • Senior • Milton, Ont.

Leads the NCAA in goals per game (1.20) and shots on goal per game (6.63) … Second in the country with 36 goals and third in the nation with 61 points … Selected as the National Player of the Month for November …  Named Hockey East Player of the Month for November and January … Three-time Hockey East Player of the Week and three-time NCAA Three Stars selection … Set new program records for goals (101) and points (192) … Leads nation in even-strength goals (29), road goals (21) and goals away from home (28) … First in NCAA with four hat tricks and two four-goal efforts … Has recorded 10 multi-goal games … Has factored on 58.6 percent of the team’s goals … Volunteered with the athletic department’s Holiday Reading Program as well as the team’s initiatives with Do It For Daron and Skating Strides against Breast Cancer…Majoring in advertising from the College of Communication with a Deaf Studies Minor and 3.08 GPA.

Loren Gabel

Forward • Clarkson University • Junior • Kitchener, Ont.

ECAC leader in overall points (61) and goals (29) and in conference play (42 PTS, 22G) … Tied for third in the NCAA in goals and points … Leads NCAA in plus/minus (+47) … NCAA’s fifth-leading playmaker in assists with 32… 5th in the NCAA for game-winning goals (6) … HCA National Player of the Month (January) … ECAC Hockey Player of the Month 3 times (October, December, January) … NCAA First Star of the Week (January 23rd) … NCAA Third Star of the Week (January 30th) … ECAC Hockey Player of the Week 5 times of the 18 weeks and ECAC Honor Roll 3 times … Recorded a point in 27 of 34 games, while recording 22 multi-point games … Tied Clarkson’s single-season goal record (29) held by 2014 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Jamie lee Rattray … Volunteers her time at Potsdam Elementary School, Community Outreach clean-up, Lil' Knights Club, and Malone Minor Hockey ADM Clinic…Majoring in Communications with a 2.80 GPA.

Daryl Watts

Forward • Boston College • Freshman • Toronto, Ont.

The nation’s top scorer (79 points)… Leads nation in points per game (2.32), goals (40), power-play points (22), power-play goals (9), power-play assists (13) and shorthanded points (tied, 5) … Second in the nation in assists (39), plus/minus (+46), assists per game (1.15), goals per game (1.18), and shots per game (5.79) …Leads with 17 points from game-winning goals (3G, 14A) … Has points in 32-of-34 games, multiple points in a leading 25 games, 11 multiple-goal games… Tied the HEA single-season points (55) and goals (30) records … Record in HEA freshman points, goals and assists…AHCA National Player of the Month Oct. … 3x AHCA National Rookie of the Month (Oct., Nov., Jan.) … HEA Player of the Month in Oct.…3x HEA Rookie of the Month (Oct., Nov. and Jan.) … 2x HEA Player of the Week … 7x HEA Rookie of the Week … Volunteers with the East Coast Jumbos, Newton Special Athletes, Campus School, Team IMPACT, various food bank drives, Equine Therapy for special needs children, low-income hockey camps and at women’s shelters in hometown of Toronto...Has a 2.67 GPA.

About Patty Kazmaier

Patty Kazmaier represented the spirit, character and on- and off-ice excellence upon which The USA Hockey Foundation national women’s ice hockey award is based. A gifted scholar-athlete, Patty battled a rare blood disease for more than a year before passing away in 1990 at the age of 28. A loving mother and wife, she left behind her husband, Mark J. Sandt and an infant daughter, Serena.

Athletic excellence ran in the Kazmaier family, as her sister, Kathy, played college ice hockey at the University of New Hampshire and her father, Dick Kazmaier, a graduate of Princeton University, won the Heisman Trophy in 1951, beating out Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford.

Patty continued her father’s athletic and academic excellence at Princeton. A four-year varsity ice hockey letter-winner, Patty anchored the Princeton defense and led the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-82 through 1983-84), while earning multiple league honors.

A truly exceptional individual, Patty Kazmaier’s achievements in life and in sport will serve as an inspiration for all women who play ice hockey now and in the future.

ABOUT THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL 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.


The 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony at McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, March 17, as part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of Minnesota..

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 multiple 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 2018 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 representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. 

Notes:Tickets to the 2018 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. The NHL Foundation is a Diamond Partner of the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.

2018 Top-10 Finalists

NAME School Pos. Year
Victoria Bach Boston University F Senior
Sydney Baldwin University of Minnesota D Senior
Kristen Campbell University of Wisconsin G Sophomore
Loren Gabel Clarkson University F Junior
Savannah Harmon Clarkson University D Senior
Brittany Howard Robert Morris University F Senior
Caitrin Lonergan Boston College F Sophomore
Toni Ann Miano Boston College D Senior
Shea Tiley Clarkson University G Senior
Daryl Watts Boston College F Freshman

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