“We pride ourselves on being a quick team and a fast team and I think people know that,” Darwitz said.

Horak picked up the win with only 8 saves, and junior Kate Lane suffered the punishing loss, stopping 17-of-24.

PATTY KAZMAIER AWARD

Minnesota’s Krissy Wendell was honored with the 2005 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award—given to the top player in women’s college hockey—presented in Portsmouth, N.H. on Saturday night. Wendell became the eighth recipient of the award and the first player from a western school to bring home the trophy. Wendell is second in the nation in points (102), goals (42), and assists (60).

In a banquet hall filled with many of women’s hockey’s biggest names, including Harvard’s Nicole Corriero—one of the 10 finalists but not among the final three nominees—Wendell congratulated her fellow stars, teammate Natalie Darwitz especially.

Wendell will lead the Golden Gophers against Harvard, home to four of the first seven winners of the award, in the NCAA championship game on Sunday afternoon.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.