University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Murphy Named Top-10 Finalist for 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
3/6/2025 11:05:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - For the second consecutive season, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy has been named a top-10 finalist for the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the USA Hockey Foundation announced Thursday.
Murphy is the 39th Gopher to be named a finalist for the prestigious award. Minnesota has had 12 top-three finalists, and three Gophers – Krissy Wendell in 2005, Amanda Kessel in 2013 and Taylor Heise in 2022 – have won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The Evergreen Park, Ill. native ranks second in the nation in goals (29), and leads the nation in both game-winning goals (7) and shots (218). She is fourth in points (59), fifth in both goals per game (.76) and points per game (1.55), and tied for 8th in assists (30). She is just three points away from tying her career-high in season points (62), and has already set a new career best in assists with 30 this season. Murphy has tallied 99 career goals, seventh-most in program history, and 90 career assists. Her career goal total ranks second among active players nationally, and her career goals per game percentage (.73) leads active players.
Murphy was recently named All-WCHA Second Team. This season, she has twice been named WCHA Forward of the Week and WCHA Forward of the Month. Additionally, this season Murphy was named National Player of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association in back-to-back months (December, January). She became the first Gopher to earn multiple National Player of the Month honors in one season since Taylor Heise during the 2022-23 season.
2025 Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10:
Joy Dunne, Forward, Ohio State
Laila Edwards, Forward, Wisconsin
Caroline Harvey, Defender, Wisconsin
Tessa Janecke, Forward, Penn State
Kristýna Kaltounková, Forward, Colgate
Abbey Murphy, Forward, Minnesota
Casey O'Brien, Forward, Wisconsin
Kirsten Simms, Forward, Wisconsin
Haley Winn, Defender, Clarkson
Issy Wunder, Forward, Princeton
The selection process commenced in early February when NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was returned to the coaches to vote for the ten finalists. The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, and an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.
About the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Selection criteria includes 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.
About Patty Kazmaier
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.