Princeton University Athletics
Pearce Named a Patty Kazmaier Award Candidate
February 24, 2006 | Women's Ice Hockey
Feb. 24, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Princeton junior forward Kim Pearce was announced one of the 10 candidates for The 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The Patty Kazmaier Award recognizes the accomplishments of the most outstanding player in women's collegiate varsity ice hockey each season.
The award, which is presented annually by the USA Hockey Foundation, will be presented on the evening of Saturday, March 25 at the Radisson University Hotel (Minneapolis, Minn.), and will again be held in conjunction with the 2006 NCAA Women's Frozen Four, to take place on March 24 and 26 at the Mariucci Arena, home of the University of Minnesota.
Pearce is one of three candidates for the award for the ECAC Hockey League. The other two, Sanrina Harbec and Jessica Moffet, play for St. Lawrence. Pearce currently leads Princeton in scoring with 36 points on 10 goals and 26 assists. That places her third in the league in overall scoring and her 24 league points sits fourth. She ranks 11th nationally in scoring and ranks second in assists per game.
She becomes the fourth Tiger to be named a candidate for the award. Most recently, Gretchen Anderson was a candidate in 2004. Ali Coughlin (1998 and 1999) and Andrea Kilbourne (2001 and 2003) were each two-time award candidates.
Three finalists, as well as the recipient of the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 13-member selection committee comprised of women's intercollegiate varsity 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. Candidates for the award must compete for a women's intercollegiate varsity ice hockey team at an NCAA-member institution. Other selection criteria include: outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration will also be given to academic achievement and civic involvement. The three finalists for the award will be announced March 13.
Now in its ninth year, the award was first presented to forward Brandy Fisher (University of New Hampshire) in 1998. Other recipients include two-time U.S. Olympians A.J. Mleczko (Harvard University) in 1999 and Krissy Wendell (University of Minnesota) in 2005; and three-time U.S. Olympian Angela Ruggiero (Harvard University) in 2004.
The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton 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.
The 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Candidates
Name Year Pos. School Sara Bauer Jr. F Univ. of Wisconsin Sabrina Harbec So. F St. Lawrence Univ. Jana Harrigan Sr. F The Ohio State Univ. Nicole Hekle Jr. F Univ. of New Hampshire Noemie Marin Jr. F Univ. of Minn. Duluth Jessica Moffat Sr. G St. Lawrence Univ. Kim Pearce Jr. F Princeton Univ. Riitta Schaublin Jr. G Univ. of Minn. Duluth Bobbi-Jo Slusar Jr. D Univ. of Wisconsin Karen Thatcher Sr. F Providence College