Parsons, Trunzo Among Nominees for 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award

HANOVER, NH - Senior co-captain Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.) and junior Amanda Trunzo (Andover, Minn.) are two of 45 players that have been nominated for the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given to the nation’s top player in women’s college hockey.

The nominees were announced yesterday by USA Hockey. Nominations for the award, which is presented by The USA Hockey Foundation, were made by NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey head coaches.

The NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches will also select the top-10 finalists from among the group of 45, with the announcement taking place March 2. A 13-member selection committee will choose the three finalists (announced March 9), as well as the award recipient.

The nominees are spread out throughout college hockey as 24 teams are represented and all four conferences in the nation. Trunzo and Parsons are among 17 players from ECAC Hockey on the list, while 11 competitors from the Ivy League are also up for the award.

Parsons has appeared in all 26 games played by the Big Green. She leads Dartmouth in all offensive categories with 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points, while also leading ECAC Hockey in points and is seventh in the nation with 1.46 points per game. Parsons is sixth nationally in goals per game at 0.69 and seventh in total goals with 18. She is 13th in assists per game at 0.77 and 16th nationally with 20 assists. She leads an offensive minded team that is tops in ECAC Hockey in scoring and is sixth nationally. Parsons is fifth in the conference in power play points with 12 on five goals and seven helpers. She has posted 13 multi-point games and four have come as multi-goal games.

Trunzo has played in 25 of 26 contests for the Big Green and is 21st in the NCAA in points per game at 1.2. She is ninth in goals per game at 0.68 and her 17 goals is 15th nationally. Her 30 points on 17 goals and 13 assists is fifth in the conference, while her 17 goals is third in ECAC Hockey. She is tied with three others on the Big Green with five power play goals and has 11 multi-point games. She is inching closer to 100 points with the final regular season weekend coming up. Trunzo has 89 points on 50 goals and 39 assists. Trunzo reached the 50-goal milestone this past weekend against Rensselaer. She is one of six nominated players that were also selected in 2009.

The 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.

Held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony on March 20 at the University of Minnesota’s McNamara Alumni Center at 10 a.m. CDT.