It’s an atrocious batting average, an abominable test score. However, when that number represents the proportion of University of Wisconsin women’s hockey players named as finalists for the award given to the most outstanding women’s collegiate hockey player, it’s pretty darn impressive.
Last week, when the USA Hockey Foundation announced the list of nominees for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, an incredible four Badgers — senior forward Erika Lawler, senior goaltender Jessie Vetter, junior forward Meghan Duggan and sophomore forward Hilary Knight — made the cut.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Duggan, who this season moved into the UW’s top five lists for both goals and points. “I don’t know what other teams are putting up, but I think it’s a real honor for our team. I think it just shows the strength of our program and some of the players that are on it.”
The Patty Kaz Award, as it is commonly referred to, is issued annually to the nation’s best Division I women’s college hockey player. The namesake of the award was an All-Ivy League defenseman for Princeton from 1981 to 1986 who helped the Tigers to three consecutive Ivy League titles. At the age of 28, Kazmaier-Sandt tragically passed away after a prolonged struggle with a rare blood disease.
To have four players from a single team who have distinguished themselves as among the nation’s best is special, but it is even more remarkable considering the East Coast dominated history of the award. Only twice — in 2005, and in 2006, when Badger great Sara Bauer won it — has the award gone to a player from the WCHA. Vetter said the uneven distribution is attributable to the team depth in the Midwest.
“Especially with our team, and with Minnesota and Duluth, you have so many players with big numbers that no one really stands out,” Vetter said. “And it may be the case out East, where you have that one player who stands out so much from their team. But definitely here, in the WCHA, you have people that stand out, but there’s obviously several people surrounding them.”
In addition to battling history, the four UW finalists will once again be measured against a slew of talented candidates from the East, as well as some from their own conference. Included in the other 39 finalists are reigning Patty Kazmaier winner, Sarah Vaillancourt (Harvard), two-time top three finalist Meghan Agosta (Mercyhurst), 2008 top ten finisher Melissa Boal (Wayne State College), and four Minnesota Gophers.
Although the competition is stiff, each Badger makes a strong individual case. Duggan, a first team all-WCHA performer last year, has scored 18 goals, has assisted on 24 others and has been a crucial asset to the nation’s best power play unit. Lawler, the team captain, is in the midst of capping an illustrious career with career highs in points and assists — a stat she leads the country in. With 38 assists and 51 points, Lawler has moved into second on the all-time UW assist chart, and currently stands third in points.
Only a sophomore, Knight has produced the third-most prolific scoring season in Badger history. Her 37 goals lead the nation, and she has already cracked the UW top five in career goals. According to head coach Mark Johnson, Knight’s season is a direct result of off-season dedication.
“What she did over the summer, she’s reaping those benefits,” Johnson said. “She really worked hard conditioning, strength, really honing in on becoming a better athlete. … You give her the credit because she’s the one that worked to put herself in that position, and it’s nice to see her have success.”
Lastly, there’s Vetter, who earlier this season established a new mark for UW career victories and who is one shutout short of tying the NCAA record for a single season. She already owns the career shutout record. Unfortunately for the senior from Cottage Grove, only one goaltender — Ali Brewer (Brown University), a Racine native — has won the Patty Kazmaier.
“I guess you’ve got to put up big numbers to give yourself a chance, and that’s difficult to do throughout the entire season,” Vetter said. “I talked to the one that did win it — Ali — and she was definitely well-deserving of it. And if they think a goaltender is [deserving] again, then we’ll see what happens.”
Ultimately, though, while the individual recognition is nice, Lawler emphasized without the team, none of their nominations would be possible.
“It’s definitely a huge honor to be nominated for such an award that represents so many great aspects of a college hockey player,” she said. “But at the same time, it’s hard to think about things like that when your team comes first. … I know all of us are just very well supported by all of our teammates and definitely couldn’t have been nominated if it weren’t for the squad we have behind us.”
