Wisconsin Badger senior Ann-Renee Desbiens and junior Annie Pankowski have been named top-10 finalists for the 2017 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the Player of the Year in women’s college hockey.
It marks the second-consecutive year that both players have been named to the top-10 list.
Desbiens was a 2016 top-three finalist and leads the nation this season in every major goaltending category. The La Malbaie, Quebec native 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 tow 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. Her current career goals-against average (0.91) and save percentage (.954) both would be NCAA records.
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.
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).