Vicki Bendus of Wasaga Beach, Ont., is up for a second straight Patty Kazmaier Award as player of the year in NCAA Division 1 women's hockey.
The Mercyhurst College forward was among 26 nominees, including 17 Canadians, announced Monday by USA Hockey.
Bendus is joined by fellow current or past Canadian national team members Meghan Acosta of Ruthven, Ont., Haley Irwin of Thunder Bay, Ont., Brianne Jenner of Oakville, Ont., Rebecca Johnston of Sudbury, Ont., Marie-Philip Poulin of Beauceville, Que., Jenn Wakefield of Pickering, Ont. and Catherine Ward of Montreal.
Also on the list are forwards Kelly Babstock of Mississauga, Ont., Bailey Bram of Ste. Ann, Man., Isabel Menard of Ottawa and Jesse Scanzano of Montreal; defencemen Laura Fortino of Hamilton, Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Ann and Lauriane Rougeau of Beaconsfield, Que.; and goaltenders Jenni Bauer of St. Catharines, Ont., and Hillary Pattenden of Surrey, B.C.
Mercyhurst, which will play host to the 2011 NCAA Women's Frozen Four, lead all schools with five nominees: Agosta, Bendus, Bram, Pattenden and Scanzano.
Agosta was a top-three finalist in 2007, 2008 and 2009 before taking last season off to play for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She leads all NCAA scorers with 31 goals and 46 assists in 30 games. Bendus has 18 goals and 31 assists this season.
No player has won the award two years in a row since it was instituted in 1998. The only two-time winner was Jennifer Botteril of Winnipeg in 2001 and 2003.
Other nominess are Americans Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Jocelyne Lamoueux, Monique Lamoureau-Kolls, Molly Schaus, Jackee Snikeris and Kelli Stack, as well as goaltender and 2010 Kazmaier finalist Noora Raty of Finland.
The 34 D1 head coaches will cut the list to 10 nominees on March 3. A 13-member committee will select the three finalists on March 10 and the winner will be announced March 19.
0 comments:
Post a Comment