University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Murphy Earns Third Straight Patty Kazmaier Top-10 Honor
3/5/2026 11:02:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – For the third consecutive season, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy has been named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the USA Hockey Foundation announced Thursday.
Murphy is the 39th Gopher all-time to earn finalist recognition for the prestigious award. Minnesota has produced 12 top-three finalists, including three winners: Krissy Wendell (2005), Amanda Kessel (2013) and Taylor Heise (2022).
The Evergreen Park, Ill., native claimed the WCHA's top forward honor following a historic senior campaign. A two-time Gopher captain and two-time Olympian, Murphy set a career high with 38 goals in just 29 games. She leads the nation in goals per game (1.31) and points per game (2.21), while ranking fifth in assists per game (0.90). She also paces the WCHA in power-play goals (7) and hat tricks (5).
During the opening round of the WCHA Playoffs, Murphy became the all-time leading goal scorer in program history for Minnesota women's hockey, netting the 140th and 141st goals of her career. Earlier this season, she set the program record for career game-winning goals (26) and tied the single-game points record (7) against Sacred Heart Pioneers women's hockey.
Murphy was recently named All-WCHA First Team. This season, the Olympic gold medalist has earned WCHA Forward of the Week honors five times (Sept. 29, Oct. 6, Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19) and WCHA Forward of the Month twice (September, January). She also received Forward of the Month recognition from the Hockey Commissioners Association in September/October and January.
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.