No. 8 Mercyhurst (23-7-3) at No. 1 Wisconsin (31-4-2)

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.

On the air: www.wpt.org/wisconsinchannel, insideBadgerSports.com (live stream), www.iheart.com (Internet radio – The Mic 92.1) and www.wsum.org, www.uwbadgers.com (live statistics)

Fast facts: Mercyhurst plays in the NCAA tournament for the eighth straight season, the longest streak in Division I history. The Lakers broke a tie with Minnesota Duluth, whose seven-year streak ends this season. … The Lakers have a 0-7 all-time record against Wisconsin, including two losses in the NCAA playoffs – 2-1 in double overtime in the 2006 quarterfinals and 5-0 in the 2009 championship game. … The Lakers have a 3-6 record in NCAA playoff games, including a 2-5 mark in the quarterfinals. … Wisconsin and Mercyhurst rank second and third nationally in scoring offense at 4.59 and 4.55 goals per game, respectively. … Mercyhurst leads the nation on the power play (28.3 percent), three spots ahead of the Badgers (23.7). … The teams have combined for seven of the nation’s top 20 scorers – Mercyhurst’s Bailey Bram, pictured at right, (27 goals, 41 assists, 68 points), Christine Bestland (24-34-58) and Kelley Steadman (32-20-52) and Wisconsin’s Brianna Decker (36-42-78), Brooke Ammerman (32-42-74), Carolyne Prévost (25-29-54) and Hilary Knight (28-2-56). … Wisconsin ranks second in scoring defense (1.43 goals per game), more than half a goal better than the Lakers (2.09). … Wisconsin tops the penalty-kill list (89.6 percent), well ahead of Mercyhurst (83.1 percent). … Wisconsin G Alex Rigsby leads the nation in save percentage (.952) and ranks second in winning percentage (.865) and shutouts (9) and third in goals-against average (1.36). … Decker is a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the nation’s top D-I player. … Wisconsin earned the No. 1 seed despite losing to UMD in the semifinals of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. … Badgers coach Mark Johnson played on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., and coached the U.S Olympic Women’s team in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

- Victor Fernandes

NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament schedule

Quarterfinals – Saturday

No. 5 St. Lawrence (24-9-4) at No. 4 Boston College (23-9-3), 1 p.m.

No. 6 Boston University (23-13-1) at No. 3 Cornell (29-4-0), 2 p.m.

No. 7 North Dakota (22-11-3) at No. 2 Minnesota (31-5-2), 5 p.m.

No. 8 Mercyhurst (23-7-3) at No. 1 Wisconsin (31-4-2), 8 p.m.

Semifinals

March 16 at Amsoil Arena – Duluth, Minn.

Wisconsin-Mercyhurst winner vs. BC-SLU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.

Minnesota-North Dakota winner vs. Cornell-BU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.

Championship game

March 18 at Amsoil Arena – Duluth, Minn.

Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.

Mercyhurst’s streak of five straight finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award has ended.

Senior forward Bailey Bram wasn’t named one of the three finalists for the prestigious award, which annually honors the top women’s hockey player in NCAA Division I. A 13-member selection committee chose Wisconsin junior forward Brianna Decker, North Dakota junior forward Jocelyne Lamoureux and Northeastern senior goaltender Florence Schelling. The finalists were unveiled Thursday.

Bram joined fellow Laker forwards Christine Bestland and Kelley Steadman as well as Girard native Jen Schoullis, a redshirt senior forward at Minnesota, on the initial list of 30 nominees two weeks. Bram survived the cut to 10 players a week ago. But she fell short of joining former teammates Meghan Agosta (2007-09, 2011) and Vicki Bendus (2010) as Kazmaier finalists. Bendus won the award in 2010.

Decker has 36 goals, 42 assists and 78 points for the top-ranked Badgers, who on Saturday begin their quest for a fifth national championship in the past seven years as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Lamoureux has 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points for the Fighting Sioux, which earned the seventh seed in the NCAA tournament field. Like her twin sister, Monique Lamoureux-Kolls, she represented the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Schelling finished the season with a 20-6-4 record, 1.42 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.

The award will be presented March 17 at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, Minn., as part of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, which will be held March 16 and 18.

Senior forward Bailey Bram, pictured at left, of the Mercyhurst women’s hockey team has been named a top ten finalist for the 15th annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented by Easton Foundations.

An award for The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

Held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be awarded at a brunch ceremony on March 17 at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, Minn.

Senior forward Kelley Steadman and sophomore forward Christine Bestland were among the original finalists, but did not make the cut to the final ten. Neither did Girard native Jen Schoullis, a redshirt senior forward at Minnesota.

It marks the second time that Bram has been a top ten finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, also accomplishing the feat as a sophomore in 2010, the year that Mercyhurst’s Vicki Bendus became the only recipient of the award in program history.

A 13-member selection committee will choose the three finalists (announced March 8), as well as the award recipient, which will be announced live at the brunch ceremony in Duluth on March 17.

2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top Ten Finalists

Bailey Bram, F, Sr., Mercyhurst University, Ste. Anne, Manitoba
Brianna Decker, F, Jr., Univ. of Wisconsin, Dousman, Wis.
Laura Fortino, D, Jr., Cornell Univ., Hamilton, Ontario
Rebecca Johnston, F, Sr., Cornell Univ., Sudbury, Ontario
Amanda Kessel, F, So., Univ. of Minnesota, Madison, Wis.
Hilary Knight, F, Sr., Univ. of Wisconsin, Sun Valley, Idaho
Jocelyne Lamoureux, F, Jr., Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D.
Monique Lamoureux-Kolls, F/D, Jr., Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D.
Florence Schelling, G, Sr., Northeastern Univ., Oberengstringen, Switzerland
Natalie Spooner, F, Sr., Ohio State Univ., Scarborough, Ontario

- From Mercyhurst news release, staff report

Four players with local ties – Mercyhurst forwards Bailey Bram, Christine Bestland and Kelley Steadman as well as Girard native and Minnesota redshirt senior forward Jen Schoullis – are among the 30 nominees for the 15th annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the top women’s player in NCAA Division I.

All four players rank among the top 15 scorers in the nation. Bram has 26 goals, 40 assists and 66 points. Bestland and Schoullis each have 22 goals, 33 assists and 55 points. Steadman ranks second nationally with 32 goals to go along with 18 assists and 50 points.

A group of 34 D-I women’s coaches will trim the list to 10 players, which will be announced March 1. Then a 13-member selection committee will choose the three finalists, which will be unveiled March 8.

The recipient will be announced March 17 during the Kazamier award ceremony in Duluth, Minn., site of the Frozen Four.

Meghan Agosta (Contributed/Mercyhurst College)

Meghan Agosta

Mercyhurst – Sr., Forward

Hometown: Ruthven, Ontario

2010-11 stats: 38 goals, 48 assists, 86 points

2010-11 accolades: Four-time finalist for the award … Led the Lakers to a 29-6-0 record, ninth straight College Hockey America title and seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance … Named All-American and CHA player of the year for the fourth straight year … NCAA career record holder in goals (157), points (303), power-play goals (54), short-handed goals (20) and game-winning goals (39) … Became first player in NCAA history to reach 300 career points … Leads the nation in assists (48), assists per game (1.41), points (86), points per game (2.53), power-play goals (15) and is tied for first in short-handed goals (4). … Ranks second in goals per game (1.12), tied for second in goals and third in game-winning goals (9). … Named CHA Tournament MVP for the third time.

Meghan Duggan (Contributed/University of Wisconsin)

Meghan Duggan

Wisconsin – Sr., Forward

Hometown: Danvers, Mass.

2010-11 stats: 38 goals, 45 assists, 83 points

2010-11 accolades: First-time Kazmaier finalist … Led the Badgers to a 35-2-2 record, No. 1 national ranking, No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and to a fourth Frozen Four … Named All-American for the first time … Finished second nationally in assists and points and tied for second in goals to improve her career total to a school-record 234 points, which ranks seventh in NCAA history … Also ranks second in points per game (2.13), assists per game (1.15), tied for second in power-play goals (11), tied for third in short-handed goals (3), fifth in goals per game (0.97) and tied for sixth in game-winning goals (6) … Western Collegiate Hockey Association player of the year and scoring champion … Became first player in program history and seventh all-time to reach 100 goals and 100 assists in a career … Became second player in program history and 13^th all-time to reach 200 career points.

Kelli Stack

Boston College – Sr., Forward

Hometown: Brooklyn Heights, Ohio

2010-11 stats: 36 goals, 22 assists, 58 points

2010-11 accolades: First Kazmaier finalist in school history … Led the Eagles to a 26-6-4 record, their first Hockey East championship and their second Frozen Four appearance … Named to the All-American second team for the second time … Set school record with 209 points … Hockey East player of the year … Leads the team in goals and points and ranks second in assists … Has accounted for one-third of the team’s goals … Tied for first nationally in short-handed goals (4) … Ranks third nationally in goals per game (1.03), fourth in goals, tied for fourth in game-winning goals (8), tied for eighth in points and power-play goals (8) … Scored winning goal in overtime against Providence in the Hockey East championship game and earned tournament MVP honors.

- Victor Fernandes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine will serve as the presenting sponsor of the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, as announced today by The USA Hockey Foundation. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is an annual honor bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

The 2011 award ceremony and brunch will take place on March 19 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women’s Frozen Four (March 18 & 20).

“We’re extremely grateful for LECOM’s support of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director for The USA Hockey Foundation. “They share our passion for helping the sport continue to grow, in part through the visibility this award provides.”

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is a private, graduate school of osteopathic medicine and pharmacy. Located in Erie, Pa., with branch campuses in Greensburg, Pa., and Bradenton, Fla., LECOM is the nation’s largest medical college offering innovative, affordable medical education, including three-year doctor of osteopathic medicine and doctor of pharmacy degrees.

Last year, Mercyhurst College forward Vicki Bendus took home the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Other previous winners include Jennifer Botterill (2001 & 2003), Julie Chu (2007), A.J. Mleczko (1999) and Angela Ruggiero (2004).

Tickets to the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award ceremony may be purchased by calling (719) 538-1184 or by submitting a completed ticket form (located at PattyKaz.com). Individual seats are $65 while tables of 10 are available for $600.

NOTES: The top-10 finalists for the award will be announced on March 3, while the top-three selections will be released on March 10 … The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman for 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 on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28, following a long struggle with a rare blood disease … For more information and to sign up for the Kaz Connection, a free monthly e-newsletter dedicated solely to the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, visit PattyKaz.com.

- From USA Hockey news release