Erie, P.A. – Meghan Duggan has been honored as the best player in women’s college hockey.

With 86 points, Duggan is tied as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s point leader, ranks second in points per game with 2.15, goals with 39, assists with 47, assists per game with 1.8 and power-play goals with 11. She has three short-handed goals on the season, which is good for third in the nation. Averaging .97 goals per game, Duggan is fourth in the nation, and with six game-winning goals, she ranks sixth nationally.

All these statistics lead to one thing: Duggan, a senior forward for Wisconsin women’s hockey, is the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award winner.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Duggan said. “Obviously it’s a very prestigious award, and there have been past winners that I look up to a lot. Patty Kazmaier, it’s incredible to be on a level equated with her. It was a great year for our team, and I was just happy to be a part of all that success.”

Along with Duggan, Boston College’s Kelli Stack and Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta rounded out the top three nominees.

When the winner was revealed, ‘Meghan’ was announced followed by a short pause, causing most in the room to draw in a quick breath. When ‘Duggan’ was finally announced, the squad and its families exploded with cheers as their captain was named one of hockey’s best.

“My heart stopped a little bit,” Duggan said of the pause. “It was really an honor to be up for the top three. As well as how today went, I was going to be gracious either way. I think the two other nominees – Kelli [Stack] and Meghan [Agosta] – are incredible players, and to be on the same level with those guys is an honor in itself.”

Duggan is the third Badger to be honored with the award. Sara Bauer was the first Badger to win in 2006, and Jessie Vetter won in 2009. In both 2006 and 2009, Wisconsin went on to win the national championship game – a tradition that still lives on.

Head coach Mark Johnson noted the similarities between Duggan and the former Badgers who won the Patty Kazmaier Award.

“I think the one common thing is certainly their performance on the ice,” Johnson said. “You look at each of them in their time winning championships and leading teams, very similar situations. Meghan, the way she conducts herself off the ice and goes about business and respect she has for her teammates speaks volumes for who she is.”

Duggan has captained a team that has some of the best chemistry Johnson and the team as a whole have ever experienced.

“She’s certainly a difference maker from a leadership standpoint,” Johnson said. “She seems to say the right things at the right time and leads by example. One of the main reasons this team has great chemistry is because of Meghan.”

Leading a squad that refers to her as “Alpha,” it’s no wonder she has been named the best player in the league.

“I think we saw it [Friday],” junior forward Brooke Ammerman said in a post-game press conference Friday. “She scores the first goal on a scrum at the net, and then we needed the big goal the end, she just comes through. She toe drags this girl in front of the net with 40 seconds left and gets the puck on net. She is an Olympian. She is one of the best leaders I’ve ever played with. We all look up to her and play hard for her. She is our Alpha.”