Harvard captain Jennifer Botterill was honored as the most outstanding player in women’s college hockey last night, receiving her second career Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The most recent ceremony was far sweeter for Botterill than the first simply because she will be competing for an NCAA championship tonight at 5 p.m.

“[The NCAA championship] is the main focus,” Botterill said shortly after receiving the award. “Being a part of the team all year, that has been a goal. We’re going to make the most of it and I’m sure it’s going to be a great game [tonight] against a great team.”

Botterill, in winning the award, beat out two other finalists—teammate Angela Ruggiero and Minnesota-Duluth forward Jenny Potter. She stood out as the nation’s leading scorer and the all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s college ice hockey.

With Botterill’s victory, Harvard players have won the award three times in its six-year history.

“We’ve been playing together to make each other better,” Ruggiero said. “I’m happy for Jen today.”

All three finalists will be playing in the national championship game, which will be televised live on NESN.

Two years ago, Botterill received the Kazmaier a day after her team had been eliminated by Minnesota-Duluth in the national semifinals. Upon receiving the award, she said she would trade it away any day for a team championship.

Botterill also became the first player to give two Kazmaier acceptance speeches.

Like in 2001, Botterill’s speech focused on thanking her competitors, family and teammates, but this speech had a more reflective tone with this being her last weekend as a college athlete. She noted that this year was her parents’ last of eight as college hockey parents. Botterill's brother Jason played at Michigan from 1993-97.

“They’ve seen how valuable the college hockey experience has been for their kids and how much it has meant for me,” Botterill said.

Botterill colored her speech with anecdotes about her teammates. She listed freshman Abra Kinkopf’s professional dance moves and sophomore Kat Sweet’s habit of donning her oversized hockey jersey every day as little moments that were special.

“I hope I can articulate how much you have meant to me,” Botterill said to her teammates.

The award is named after Patty Kazmaier, an All-ECAC and All-Ivy hockey player from the 1980s who passed away from a rare blood disease. Botterill said her speech was inspired by the reflections of the evening’s previous speakers, including Women’s Sports Foundation Executive Director Donna Lopiano and Patty’s father Dick Kazmaier.

“It’s those things that trigger in your mind the things throughout the season that have been meaningful and have gotten you to this point,” Botterill said.

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