Cahow, Vaillancourt Finalists for 2008 Patty Kazmaier Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Senior defenseman Caitlin Cahow (Vinalhaven, Maine) and junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, Que.) were among the Division I women's hockey players named Tuesday as top 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the top individual award in the sport.

Cahow and Vaillancourt, both Olympic medalists at the 2006 Torino games, were named along with eight other players from Division I hockey as the 10 candidates for the 2008 award. This is the second consecutive year that Harvard has had two top 10 finalists, as Vaillancourt and Julie Chu '06-07 were selected last year. Chu went on to win the award, the fifth Crimson player to be so honored.

Cahow and Vaillancourt were easy selections as top 10 finalists, as the players rank highly in several national categories and have led the Crimson to three championships already this year -- Beanpot, Ivy League and ECAC regular-season titles. Harvard (27-1-0 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 ranked No. 1 in both major polls.

Cahow, the team captain and 2006 bronze-medalist with Team USA, is currently second in the nation among defenders with 1.04 points per game (13-16-29). The defenseman is tied for second overall with 11 power-play goals and is also tied for 11th with five game-winning tallies. Cahow scored her first collegiate hat trick in the win over Boston College Jan. 8 and anchors the nation's best scoring defense, which allows only 0.82 goals per game.

A true scoring defenseman, Cahow (29-76-105) is tied with Jennifer Raimondi '06 for 15th all-time in career points at Harvard and is 10th in career assists. Cahow won a silver medal at the 2007 Women's Four Nation Cup last November and was named to the U.S. National Team preliminary roster for the upcoming 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship April 4-12, in Harbin, China.

Vaillancourt, meanwhile, has a team-best 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points, placing her fifth in the nation in points per contest (1.89). She is second in the country with 1.14 assists per game and sixth in goals per contest (0.75). Vaillancourt has also tallied seven game-winning goals, placing her fourth in the country, and is tied for seventh with two short-handed goals. Vaillancourt has collected points in 26 of the 28 Crimson contests this season and was named ECAC Hockey 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 176 points (76-100), is ninth 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.

The other eight finalists include Meghan Agosta from Mercyhurst, Melissa Boal from Wayne State, Tessa Bonhomme from Ohio State, Sam Faber and Martine Garland of New Hampshire, Sabrina Harbec from St. Lawrence, Kim Martin from Minnesota Duluth and Gigi Marvin from Minnesota.

The 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 three finalists for this year's award will be announced March 12.

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 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, Chu joined the group after capturing the trophy in 2007.