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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, Que.) is among the three Division I women's hockey players named by USA Hockey Wednesday as the top finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest individual award in the sport.

Vaillancourt, the 2008 ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year, has a team-best 24 goals and 34 assists for 58 points, placing her fifth in the nation in points per contest (1.81). She is also second in assists per game (1.06), fifth in goals (0.75), tied for second with three short-handed tallies and tied for fourth with seven game-winners.

The junior forward led the ECAC in points (40), goals (18) and assists (22), as well as power-play points (20). She was also tied for first with two short-handed goals in league contests. Vaillancourt was a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy League First-Team and was also recognized on the All-ECAC First-Team. Vaillancourt was named ECAC Player of the Week Dec. 3 and Jan. 14.

In only her junior season, Vaillancourt currently stands eighth on Harvard's all-time scoring list with 181 points (79-102), is eighth on the school's goal list and is eighth in career assists. Vaillancourt also played in the 2006 Olympics, earning a gold medal with Canada's national team, and earned the gold medal at the 2007 Women's Four Nation Cup. She was recently named to Team Canada's roster for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships held April 4-12 in Harbin, China.

Vaillancourt's competition for the award includes Mercyhurst sophomore forward Meghan Agosta (39-24-63) and sophomore goaltender Kim Martin (28-4-1, 1.39) from Minnesota Duluth. All three players will compete in the upcoming 2008 NCAA Championship.

Vaillancourt helped lead No. 1 Harvard to four championships already this year -- Beanpot, Ivy League, ECAC regular-season and ECAC tournament titles. Harvard (31-1-0 overall) became the second team in ECAC women's hockey history to finish the conference season with a perfect record, as the Crimson went 22-0-0. Harvard was also a perfect 10-0-0 in Ivy League play and is currently the No. 1 seed entering the NCAA tournament. The Crimson will play Dartmouth, the No. 8 seed, at Bright Hockey Center Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m.

The junior forward was a top 10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award a year ago.
This year's top three finalists, including the recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, are chosen by a 13-member selection committee comprised of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media and a representative of USA Hockey, the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.

The 2008 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a dinner ceremony at the Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview on March 21, in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four, in Duluth, Minn. Tickets to the event may be purchased at PattyKaz.com or by calling 800-566-3288, ext. 184.

Former Crimson standout, three-time Olympian and 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Angela Ruggiero '02-04, will serve as master of ceremonies during the 2008 award dinner.

The Patty Kazmaier Award has been presented to the top women's college player since 1998, and the award has gone to a Harvard player five times in its first 10 years. Jennifer Botterill '02-03 earned the honor in 2001 and 2003 and remains the only two-time winner of the award. A.J. Mleczko '97-99 took home the award in 1999, and Ruggiero was the winner in 2004. Most recently, Julie Chu '06-07 joined the group after capturing the trophy in 2007.