Patty Kazmaier Award Finalists Announced, With Notable Omission

Finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award — presented annually to the top player in Division I women’s hockey — were announced Thursday, though there was one glaring omission among the talent.

There are three finalists who play at Northeastern: defender Skylar Fontaine, goaltender Aerin Frankel and forward Alina Mueller. Missing is Maureen Murphy, who is the top goal-scorer in the nation.

Murphy has scored 29 goals and averages .85 goals per game, ranking second only to Vermont’s Theresa Schafzahl — who did crack the list of finalists. The Buffalo, N.Y., native scored 12 goals and eight assists in February, and her 20 points and 12 goals both were NCAA highs for the months. For her efforts, Murphy was named the Hockey Commissioners Association National Co-Player of the Month alongside Minnesota’s Taylor Heise — who, like Schafzahl, is a finalist.

To be blunt, it simply doesn’t make sense that Murphy, who has been a force for the No. 3 Huskies, was not named to the list.

Regardless, here’s the full list of finalists, which consists of seven forwards, two defenders and one goalie:

Skylar Fontaine, Northeastern
Aerin Frankel, Northeastern
Élizabeth Giguére, Minnesota-Duluth
Taylor Heise, Minnesota
Gabbie Hughes, Minnesota-Duluth
Sophie Jaques, Ohio State
Alina Mueller, Northeastern
Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
Theresa Schafzahl, Vermont
Daryl Watts, Wisconsin

Three finalists will be announced March 17 and the winner will be revealed March 26.