'U' Junior Named Tops In NCAA Division 1 Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A junior forward with the University of Minnesota women's hockey team was honored with the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award on Saturday.
The award, which has been given out for the last 16 years, was given to Amanda Kessel of Madison, Wis. The previous and, to date, only time a player from the U of M won was in 2005, when the award went to Krissy Wendell.
This season, Kessel leads the NCAA in goals, assists, points, points per game, goals per game, assists per game, and short-handed goals.
She's only the 24th player in NCAA history to reach 200 career points, and she's done so in just three seasons.
"Amanda has had a historic season. Her domination on the ice this year has been nothing short of phenomenal. The number of points that she compiled is just one indication of her impact on our team," head coach Brad Frost said. "She has proved to be the most dynamic offensive threat in all of NCAA women's hockey, but her contribution goes much farther. She has grown into a complete two-way player, playing at an elite level in the defensive zone, on the penalty kill, and certainly in the offensive zone. Her domination of the statistical categories speaks for itself."
Kessel was named the Patty Kazmaier recipient at a brunch ceremony at the McNamara Alumni Center Saturday morning.
Kessel was chosen for the award out of a group of top three finalists that also included two of her teammates, both seniors -- defenseman Megan Bozek and goalie Nora Räty. This year marks the first time all three came from the same school.
