Amsley-Benzie Patty Kaz Top 10 Finalist

Goalie Shelby Amsley-Benzie is currently on a shutout streak of
roughly 268 consecutive minutes

As announced earlier today, the top 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, women's hockey version of the Hobey Baker, and UND goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie was on the finalist list, making her the third player in UND history to make it. Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux are the other two.

Amsley-Benzie has had a season to remember for North Dakota as she is making history in the UND record books. She now holds the UND goaltending records in wins with 49, career and single season shutouts (14 career and 9 this season), and needs just three more victories to tie her previous single season wins record of 19.

With a 1.15 goals against average, and a .955 save percentage, Amsley-Benzie has been the constant since the turn of the calender to 2015. She is also currently on a school record shutout streak of just under 268 consecutive minutes dating back to the second game of the Minnesota series in early February.

However, much like the Hobey Baker, the voters also look at their off ice activities to take into account on how they vote. With Shelby Amsley-Benzie in her fourth year in the UND Engineering program and started to work for her Masters Degree, her 4.0 GPA is something that the committee will take into great consideration come voting time.

Here is the list of the top 10 finalists and where they go to school:

1. Shelby Amsley-Benzie      University of North Dakota
2. Hannah Brandt                   University of Minnesota
3. Dani Cameranesi                University of Minnesota
4. Rachel Ramsey                   University of Minnesota
5. Alex Carpenter                   Boston College
6. Emily Pfalzer                      Boston College
7. Haley Skarupa                    Boston College
8. Marie-Philip Poulin            Boston University
9. Brianne Jenner                    Cornell
10. Kendall Coyne                  Northeastern

This is a pretty big name list with a few Olympians, and probably future Olympians on the list. However, one thing Amsley-Benzie does have going for her is that she is the only goaltender to make the list, so one could say that she is the best goalie in the NCAA. I'd say her numbers are able to back that statement up as well. The award will be announced Frozen Four weekend, just like the Hobey Baker is.

Three Finalists Named for 2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award

 I suppose all you are shocked that all three finalists came from the University of Minnesota. This appears to be more political than the Hobey Baker Memorial Award voting.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Senior defenseman Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), junior forward Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) and senior goaltender Noora Räty (Espoo, Finland), all of the University of Minnesota, have been named the Top-3 Finalists for the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. It is the first time ever that the Top-3 Finalists all represent the same university.

The three players have helped the University of Minnesota women's ice hockey team to a perfect 36-0-0 record this season. The Gophers are in the midst of an NCAA-record 44-game winning streak, dating back to last season.

2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Finalists Megan Bozek • Univ. of Minnesota Senior • Defenseman • 36GP, 18-34--52 Amanda Kessel • Univ. of Minnesota Junior • Forward • 32GP, 43-51--94 Noora Räty • Univ. of Minnesota Senior • Goaltender • 33-0-0; 0.93; .956

The 2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be awarded at a brunch ceremony on Sat., March 23, at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four. The award, which is in its 16th year, is given out annually by The USA Hockey Foundation to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.

The selection process began in late February, when NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by two or more coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was sent back to the coaches to vote for the Top-10 finalists.

The three finalists were then chosen by a 13-member selection committee comprised of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and a representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.