Three Big Green Skaters Nominees for Patty Kazmaier Award

HANOVER, N.H. -- Senior Maggie Kennedy (West Hartford, Conn.), junior Jenna Cunningham (Medicine Hat, Alta.) and sophomore Amanda Trunzo (Andover, Minn.) are among 43 players nominated for the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

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 for 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 on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28, following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

Kennedy has appeared in all of Dartmouth’s contests and ranks 16th in assists in the nation. She is tied for eighth in ECAC Hockey in scoring with 30 points (8-22-30) and third in assists in the league with 22 and she is averaging 0.85 assists per game. Kennedy is also fourth in power play points in the conference with a goal and 12 assists and was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Nov. 10.

Cunningham has also played in every game for the Big Green this season. She ranks 12th in ECAC Hockey with 28 points (9-19-28) and sixth in the conference in assists with 19 and 0.73 per game. Cunningham is 16th in power play points with a goal and 10 assists on the man advantage and she is sixth in ECAC Hockey with three game-winning goals.

Like Kennedy and Cunninham, Trunzo has appeared in all of Dartmouth’s games. She is third in the nation in power play goals with nine and 25th in goals per game with 0.62. Trunzo leads ECAC Hockey with nine power play goals and is eighth in scoring with 30 points (16-14-30). She is sixth in goal scoring with 16 scores, averaging 0.62 goals per game and a two-time ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honoree. Cunningham has posted eight multi-point games, including a four-goal game and a hat trick this season.

The 15 ECAC Hockey nominees include: Brown goaltender Nicole Stock; Clarkson goaltender Lauren Dahm and forward Marie-Jo Gaudet; Colgate defenseman Kiira Dosdall and forward Sam Hunt; Cornell forward Rebecca Johnston; Darmouth forwards Cunningham, Kennedy and Trunzo; Harvard forward Sarah Vaillancourt; Princeton defenseman Sasha Sherry; St. Lawrence goaltender Brittony Chartier and forward Carson Duggan; Union goaltender Lundy Day; and Yale defenseman Helen Resor.

Among the 43 nominated players are four women who have previously been top-10 finalists, including Vaillancourt, who won the award last year. A total of 24 schools are represented among this year’s nominees, including players from each of the four NCAA Division I leagues in the country.

The NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches will next select the top-10 finalists from among the group of 43 with the announcement taking place March 2. Then a 13-member selection committee will select the three finalists (announced March 10), as well as the award recipient.

The 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which takes place in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, will be presented at a brunch ceremony on Sat., March 21, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston at 10 a.m. EST.

Tickets to the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award ceremony may be purchased at PattyKaz.com or by calling 719-538-1184. Individual seats are $85, while tables of 10 are available for $800.