Women's Hockey Media Center: Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award

	PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, an honor established by USA Hockey, is bestowed annually to the most outstanding collegiate women’s ice hockey player. The Award was created in conjunction with the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance national championship, which originated in 1998. Each year, a committee nominates 10 candidates and a separate committee selects three finalists from that pool of candidates. That committee then decides which finalist will receive the honor as most outstanding collegiate player in the nation. UNH was the only women’s ice hockey program to have a candidate in each of the first five years the award was presented.
	BRANDY FISHER – 1998 award recipient Fisher broke the UNH single-season records for both goals and points as she led the nation in goals (42), assists (39), points (81) and power-play goals (11) in the 1998 season. Fisher recorded a point in 30 of 38 games, including 25 multiple-point games. Season highlights included her 100th career goal, 100th career assist and 200th career point. In her final collegiate game, Fisher led UNH to the inaugural national championship with a 4-1 victory against Brown at the FleetCenter (Boston, Mass.). Other honors bestowed Fisher in the 1998 season included AWCHA All-America, AWCHA All-Tournament Team, New England College Hockey Player of the Year and ECAC Player of the Year.
	NICKI LUONGO – 1999 finalist Luongo finished her senior year of 1999 sixth on the team in scoring – first among defensemen – with 45 points and ranked second with 29 assists, as well as tied for second in power-play goals (eight). Her numbers ranked No. 10 in the nation in assists and No. 15 in points. She broke the school and ECAC records with seven assists in a game vs. Maine. She finished that game with eight points to tie both the school and ECAC records. In addition to being named a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist, Luongo was named to the AWCHA All-America First Team, AWCHA All-Tournament Team, All-New England Team, ECAC All-League First Team and ECAC All-Tournament Team.
	CARISA ZABAN – 1999 nominee & 2000 finalist Zaban led the 2000 Wildcats in goals (35), assists (37) and points (72). She became UNH’s all-time leading scorer during the season with her 256th career point and finished with a total of 263. Zaban’s other 2000 honors included AWCHA All-America First Team, All-New England Team and ECAC All-League First Team. In 1999, Zaban was No. 5 in the nation in both points and assists as well as No. 8 in goals as she led UNH in points (67) and assists (38) and ranked second in goals (29). Her season highlights included recording her 100th career assist and tying a school record with five points in one period. Zaban was also selected to the AWCHA All-America Second Team as a junior.
	MICHELLE THORNTON – 2001 nominee Thornton led UNH in goals (15), assists (23) and points (38) and was second in game-winning goals. Season highlights included her 50th career goal and 150th career point. Thornton left the UNH program ranked No. 9 on the all-time scoring list with 157 points as well as No. 5 in assists with 93. Other honors for Thornton in 2001 included All-New England Team and ECAC Honorable Mention.
	KIRA MISIKOWETZ – 2002 nominee Misikowetz, a senior forward, led UNH in both points (39) and assists (25) and was third in goals with 14. Season highlights included her 100th career point and a five-assist performance against Quinnipiac University. In two seasons at UNH, Misikowetz compiled 28 goals and 39 assists for 67 points in 70 games. Other honors for Misikowetz in 2002 included ECAC Eastern League All-Conference Second Team and ECAC Eastern League All-Academic Squad.
	NICOLE HEKLE – 2006 nominee Hekle served as tri-captain of the Wildcats as a junior forward and compiled 33 points on 12 goals and 21 assists in 37 games. She was honored as USCHO Defensive Forward of the Year and recorded a point in 19 of 37 games with seven multiple-point efforts. Hekle’s season highlights included her 100th career point (goal vs. Harvard on Jan. 11) and her first career hat trick with three goals and two assists for a season-high five points vs. Northeastern on Nov. 19.
	MARTINE GARLAND – 2007 nominee & 2008 nominee Garland was a third-year captain as a senior defenseman on the 2008 team. She led UNH to a No. 1 national ranking in penalty kill as well as No. 2 in power play, offense and defense. Her season highlights included her 100th career point and she finished with 105 to rank third on the program’s all-time scoring list for defensemen. Garland’s other accolades included RBK Hockey All-America Second Team, New England All-Star Team, Hockey East First Team All-Star and Hockey East All-Academic Team. In 2007, Garland ranked 10th in the nation in points per game (defensemen). She led the team in plus/minus, ranked second in assists and fourth in points. Garland was also selected to the USCHO Second Team and USCHO Sportsmanship Award.
	SAM FABER – 2008 nominee Faber led the nation in game-winning goals and ranked second in shorthanded goals as well as 10th in goals and 13th in points. The junior forward led UNH in both assists and points for the second consecutive year, and also recorded team highs in game-winning goals and plus/minus; she ranked second in goals. Faber became the first player in Hockey East’s six-year history to receive consecutive Player of the Month awards. Her other 2008 accolades included Hockey East All-Star First Team, New England All-Star Team and Hockey East Tournament MVP, as well as UNH’s Karyn Bye Award as the team MVP. Faber’s season highlights included her 100th career point and 50th career goal.
	JENN WAKEFIELD – 2009 nominee Wakefield, a sophomore forward, ranked third in the nation in goals per game, power-play goals and shorthanded goals; she was also second in game-winning goals and 13th in points per game. Despite missing four games, Wakefield recorded team highs in points (49), goals (32), power-play goals (13), shorthanded goals (4), game-winning goals and shots; additionally, she was second in shooting percentage and fifth in assists. She recorded 21-9-30 in 19 league games and tallied a point in 26 of 31 games with 15 multiple-point efforts. Her other accolades included New England All-Star, Hockey East All-Star First Team and Hockey East All-Academic Team.
	KELLY PATON – 2010 finalist Paton, a senior captain, ranked #4 in the nation in assists per game, #6 in points per game and #20 in goals per game, as well as 16th in game-winning goals and 19th in power-play goals. Paton led the team in both goals and points, as well as game-winning goals and plus/minus. She recorded a point in 27 of 33 games, including a 12-game point streak to start the season, with 12 multiple-point efforts. Her other 2010 accolades included All-America First Team and Hockey East co-Player of the Year, and she received back-to-back Hockey East Player of the Month awards in October and November.

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