MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin senior
Ann-Renée Desbiens and junior
Annie Pankowski have been named top-10 finalists for the 2017 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest individual honor in women's college hockey, USA Hockey announced Thursday.
It marks the second-consecutive year that Desbiens and Pankowski have been named to the top-10 list for the prestigious honor.
"They've meant a lot to our program" UW head coach
Mark Johnson said. "Ann-Renee put up ridiculous numbers last year and came back this season and played extremely well. She's won a lot of hockey games, put up some extremely impressive numbers and is certainly deserving to be on that list along with Annie, who since our first series up at Duluth has been probably one of the best players in the country. She has produced a lot of points for us and the end result is we've won a lot of games because of those two players.
"Both are very deserving and I'm very happy for both of them."
A 2016 Patty Kazmaier top-three finalist, Desbiens leads the nation this season in every major goaltending category. The native of La Malbaie, Quebec, owns NCAA-leading marks in goals-against average with a 0.74 mark, save percentage with a .961 clip, winning percentage with a .893 rate and shutouts with 13.
Desbiens sports a 6-1-3 record against ranked opponents this and allowed only two goals during UW's recent series against No. 2-ranked Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 Minnesota.
The 2016 USCHO.com Player of the Year, Desbiens broke the NCAA career shutouts record this year and currently has 51 shutouts in 113 starts. She's accumulated 93 career wins, which ranks fifth in NCAA history.
In addition, her current career goals-against average (0.91) and save percentage (.954) both would be NCAA records.
An accounting major, Desbiens is accepted into the Wisconsin School of Business to begin her Integrated Master of Accountancy degree. She volunteers with the Badger Life program, the local veterans hospital and spends time before and after games meeting with young fans that look up to her as a role model.
Pankowski, a second-team All-American last year, is enjoying a fantastic junior campaign and leads the No. 1 Badgers in points, with 42. Her 1.45 points-per-game average ranks third in the WCHA and eighth nationally.
Despite missing four games while helping the U.S. win the Four Nations Cup in November, Pankowski's 20 goals lead the WCHA and rank sixth in the country. Pankowski is also tied for the national lead in hat tricks, with two.
During UW's recent unbeaten stretch of 16 games, the longest active streak in the NCAA, Pankowski has contributed 14 goals and 16 assists.
She recently cracked the school's top-10 points list with 143, and her 1.32 points-per-game average during her three-year career ranks seventh in UW history.
A zoology major, Pankowski was named a WCHA Scholar Athlete for a second straight year and received the NCAA Elite 90 Award for having the highest grade-point average among participants at the 2016 NCAA Frozen Four.
Pankowski has spent countless hours volunteering with OccuPaws, an organization that helps raise guide dogs, as she and her roommates have hosted five dogs this season. She also has volunteered at American Family Children's Hospital, Caleb's Pitch and the Goodman Community Center food pantry.
Desbiens and Pankowski aim to become Wisconsin's fifth recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, joining Sara Bauer (2006), Jessie Vetter (2009), Meghan Duggan (2011) and Brianna Decker (2012).
The Badgers have had at least one Kazmaier top-10 finalist in five of the past seven seasons.
An award of the USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Other selection criteria include outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement.
