Vaillancourt Tabbed Kazmaier Finalist

Photo by DSPics.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard senior forward Sarah Vaillancourt is among the three Division I women’s hockey players named by USA Hockey Tuesday as the top finalists for the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented to the nation’s best player. After winning the award in 2008, Vaillancourt is looking to become just the second women’s hockey player to win the Patty Kazmaier trophy twice. Jennifer Botterill ’02-03 earned the honor in 2001 and 2003.

Vaillancourt, the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Player of the Year the past two seasons, had a Crimson-best 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points, placing her fourth in the country in points per contest (1.93). She also ranks tied for fourth in assists per game (1.00) and tied for seventh in goals per contest (0.93).

The co-captain from Sherbrooke, Que., tied for the ECAC Hockey lead with 35 points on 20 goals and 15 assists in only 17 conference games. Vaillancourt also led all scorers in Ivy League play with 20 points, scoring 12 goals and handing out eight assists in nine games played. She was tabbed to the All-ECAC Hockey and All-Ivy League first teams for the second straight season.

With 237 career points, Vaillancourt ranks tied for fourth in NCAA history and seventh on the Crimson’s all-time chart in scoring. She tallied 106 goals during her four seasons, placing her in a third-place tie among NCAA players and fifth in Harvard history. Vaillancourt, a 2006 gold medalist with Team Canada at the Torino Olympics, also stands tied for fifth on Harvard’s all-time assist chart with 131.

Vaillancourt helped Harvard win its second consecutive Ivy League and ECAC Hockey regular-season titles in 2008-09 and had 14 multi-point games and three hat tricks, including a four-goal performance at Cornell Feb. 13. She was tabbed the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week Feb. 9, Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 and collected a season-best seven points on three goals and four assists against Boston University Feb. 3.

Beyond her hockey achievements, Vaillancourt, a psychology concentrator, has been active in her hometown community. There, she has helped raise money for the CHUS hospital in Sherbrooke, Que., and was the president of honor for the sick children in the region. In addition, she speaks to Canadian elementary and high school students on the perseverance of following their dreams.

The other finalists for this year’s award include forward Meghan Agosta of Mercyhurst and Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter.

This year’s winner will be revealed at an award ceremony on March 21 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston, in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four. It will feature the three finalists, the Frozen Four participating teams and NESN's Kathryn Tappen as the master of ceremonies. A limited number of tickets are still available to the event and may be purchased at PattyKaz.com or by calling 800-566-3288, ext. 184 ($85/individual seats, $800/table of 10).

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 Patty Kazmaier Award has been presented to the top women’s college hockey player since 1998, and the award has gone to a Harvard player six times in the first 11 years of the trophy’s existence. A.J. Mleczko ’97-99 took home the award in 1999, followed by Botterill in 2001 and 2003. Angela Ruggiero ’02-04 was the winner in 2004, while Julie Chu ’06-07 joined the group after capturing the trophy in 2007. Most recently, Vaillancourt was named the winner in 2008 in Duluth, Minn.