Crimson standouts Corriero and Julie Chu were named Monday to the list of ten finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award to be unveiled at the NCAA Frozen Four on March 26. Both of Harvard’s candidates for this prestigious honor––named for the late Princeton defender––made the most recent cut, before the field is narrowed to three on March 14.
“It’s completely deserved,” Stone said. “They’re such different players and it’s great for them to be recognized nationally for their strengths and for their leadership. I’m really happy that they play for us.”
Harvard has traditionally excelled in the brief history of the award, now in its eighth year, with its players winning four of the first seven. Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 became the first defenseman to take home the prize last year, after Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03 was the first two-time winner the year before that. A.J. Mleczko ’97-’99 was the second-even recipient of the award in her senior campaign.
This time around, Corriero and Chu appear on a list loaded with the biggest names in women’s college hockey. Chu is one of four Olympians among the index of stars, and the four top scorers in the nation, Corriero included, are all present as well.
“It’s a great honor,” Corriero said. “When I think about my career at Harvard, this year has just been a fairy tale. I’ve been so blessed by great teammates and great line-mates who have really brought out my game, and I owe a lot of this recognition to them.”
Corriero, also a finalist last year, ranks fourth in the country with 2.52 points per game, and first in goals per game (1.76) and power-play goals (14).
Chu, who has scored in all 18 games she has played in, seventh in points per game (2.17) and second in assists per game (1.83).
AROUND THE NCAA
Following its upset win over Dartmouth Saturday, the Crimson moved up one spot this week to No. 5 in the national rankings. The Big Green, for its part, dropped one notch down to No. 3.
Perhaps more importantly, in the most recently released set of Pairwise Rankings, (a formula that imitates the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee in determining the bracket for the Frozen Eight,) Harvard jumped to No. 5 from the tenuous eighth position.
—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.