Gophers' Abbey Murphy named top-10 finalist for Patty Kazmaier Award

Gophers women's hockey forward Abbey Murphy was named one of 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given to the most outstanding player in Division I women's hockey, the USA Hockey Foundation announced on Thursday.

Murphy was also a top-10 finalist for last year's Patty Kazmaier that went to Cornell's Izzy Daniel, a Minneapolis native. Murphy is the 39th Gophers player to be a finalist for the award, and should she receive the honor in 2025, she'd be the fourth in program history to win the award. Taylor Heise was the most recent Gophers winner following the 2022 season.

This season has been a continuation of a stellar career for Murphy, a redshirt senior. Her 59 points (29 goals, 30 assists) lead the Gophers and rank fourth in the nation. Murphy's 29 goals are second in the country, and she leads the nation in both game-winning goals (7) and shots (218). Murphy's points per game (1.55) and goals per game (0.76) both rank fifth.

Murphy was an All-WCHA Second Team selection this season, an All-USCHO Third Team selection and garnered several timely conference honors, including three WCHA Forward of the Week nods and two WCHA Forward of the Month nods.

Murphy's impressive career with the Gophers has spanned 136 games, and she's recorded 189 points (99 goals, 90 assists) over her tenure. Her 99 career goals rank seventh in program history, and she's just three away from tying sixth.

Along with Murphy, the top-10 finalists for the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award include Joy Dunne (Ohio State), Laila Edwards (Wisconsin), Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin), Tessa Janecke (Penn State), Kristýna Kaltounková (Colgate), Casey O'Brien (Wisconsin), Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin), Haley Winn (Clarkson) and Issy Wunder (Princeton). The top-three finalists will be chosen by a 13-member selection committee of coaches, media, an at-large member and a member of USA Hockey.

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