Ms. Hockey

2011 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award 10 Semifinalists Announced

MINNEAPOLIS ­­— Let’s Play Hockey newspaper announced today the 10 semifinalists for the 2011 Ms. Hockey Award, which will be presented to the top senior girls’ high school hockey player in Minnesota.

In alphabetical order, here are this year’s 10 semifinalists (statistics through games of Feb. 2):

Finalist Pos. School GP G A TP College
Rachael Bona F Coon Rapids 23 40 31 71 Minnesota
Hillary Crowe F Blake 23 41 27 68 Harvard
Taylor Kuehl F Mound Westonka 24 48 43 91 Ohio State
Allie LaCombe F Eden Prairie 24 35 17 52 Syracuse
Meghan Lorence F Irondale 23 43 15 58 Minnesota
Layla Marvin F Warroad 21 28 33 61 North Dakota
Abby Ness F Roseau 19 24 12 36 St. Cloud State
Rachel Ramsey D Minnetonka 21 11 25 36 Minnesota
Sami Reber F Edina 24 21 32 53 Harvard
Karley Sylvester F Warroad 21 23 38 61 Wisconsin

All 10 players named as semifinalists are committed to a Division I school for next season, including seven in the WCHA and two in the Ivy League. All semifinalists have been bound to the textbooks for the past several years as they check in with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.671. Six of the semifinalists hail from Class AA schools (Crowe, Kuehl, Marvin and Sylvester play for Class A teams), and all but one of the finalists are forwards (Ramsey is a defenseman).

The five finalists for the Ms. Hockey Award will be named in the Feb. 17 edition of Let’s Play Hockey with the winner announced at the Ms. Hockey Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 11:30 a.m., at the St. Paul RiverCentre. The 10 semifinalists for the Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year Award were also announced today. The five finalists for the Senior Goalie of the Year Award will be named in the Feb. 10 edition of Let’s Play Hockey. Both awards are sponsored by Let’s Play Hockey, the Minnesota Wild, Shock Doctor and DCS Image.

In addition to on-ice talent, criteria for the Ms. Hockey Award include academics, community/extracurricular activities, citizenship and coachability. Past winners: 2010 Bethany Brausen (Roseville), 2009 Becky Kortum (Hopkins), 2008 Sarah Erickson (Bemidji), 2007 Katharine Chute (Blake), 2006 Allie Thunstrom (North St. Paul), 2005 Gigi Marvin (Warroad), 2004 Erica McKenzie (Hastings), 2003 Andrea Nichols (Hibbing/Chisholm), 2002 Ashley Albrecht (South St. Paul), 2001 Renee Curtin (Roseville), 2000 Krissy Wendell (Park Center), 1999 Ronda Curtin (Roseville), 1998 Laura Slominski (Burnsville), 1997 Annamarie Holmes (Apple Valley), 1996 Winny Brodt (Roseville).

Other awards that will be presented at the banquet include the Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year Award, which goes to the top senior goalie in girls’ high school hockey, as well as the Minnesota Girls High School Hockey Coaches Association’s Coaches of the Year, and All-State and All-Academic Award winners for the 2010-11 season.

For more information on the Ms. Hockey banquet, call Let’s Play Hockey at 612-729-0023.