Among the 30 nominees for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is presented to the top women's hockey player in Division I hockey, are three Gophers.

They are junior defenseman Megan Bozek of Buffalo Grove, Illinois; sophomore forward Amanda Kessel of Madison, Wis., junior goalie Noora Raty of Espoo, Finland, and senior forward Jen Schoullis of Erie, Pa. Raty was one of 10 finalists a year ago.

Two other nominees are former Gophers. They are twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux and Monique Lamoureux-Kolls of Grand Forks, N.D. They transferred to North Dakota after one season with the Gophers. Both are juniors. Lamoureux is a forward, Monique plays foward and on the blue line.

Wisconsin and Cornell have three nominees.

The top 10 finalists will be announced March 1 and the winner will be named March 17 at a banquet in Duluth, Minn. The WCHA had the most nominees, 12.

There are players from eight states on the list of nominees, but none from Minnesota. That seems pretty strange. Is it unprecedented? Don't know. The list:

Wisconsin, 3

Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and North Dakota, all 2

Idaho, Ohio and Pennsylvania, all 1

Three Canadian provinces and three European countries also have finalists:

Ontario: 9

Manitoba, 2

Quebec, 1

Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland, all 1

The list of nominees:

2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Nominees

Name Pos Yr School Hometown

Christine Bestland F So. Mercyhurst College Brunkild, Man.
Blake Bolden D Jr. Boston College Stow, Ohio
Megan Bozek D Jr. Univ. of Minnesota Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Bailey Bram F Sr. Mercyhurst College Ste. Anne, Man.
Alex Carpenter F Fr. Boston College Reading, Mass.
Kendall Coyne F Fr. Northeastern Univ. Palos Heights, Ill.
Brianna Decker F Jr. Univ. of Wisconsin Dousman, Wis.
Jillian Dempsey F Jr. Harvard Univ. Winthrop, Mass.
Laura Fortino D Jr. Cornell Univ. Hamilton, Ont.
Thea Imbrogno F So. Robert Morris Univ. Etobicoke, Ont.
Haley Irwin F Sr. Univ. of Minnesota Duluth Thunder Bay, Ont.
Brianne Jenner F So. Cornell Univ. Oakville, Ont.
Rebecca Johnston F Sr. Cornell Univ. Sudbury, Ont.
Amanda Kessel F So. Univ. of Minnesota Madison, Wis.
Hilary Knight F Sr. Univ. of Wisconsin Sun Valley, Id.
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.
Josephine Pucci D Jr. Harvard Univ. Pearl River, N.Y.
Jamie Lee Rattray F So. Clarkson Univ. Kanata, Ont.
Noora Raty G Jr. Univ. of Minnesota Espoo, Finland
Alex Rigsby G So. Univ. of Wisconsin Delafield, Wis.
Lauriane Rougeau D Jr. Cornell Univ. Beaconsfield, Que.
Kelly Sabatine F Jr. St. Lawrence Univ. Hamilton, Ont.
Florence Schelling G Sr. Northeastern Univ. Oberengstringen, Switz.
Jen Schoullis F Sr. Univ. of Minnesota Erie, Pa.
Natalie Spooner F Sr. Ohio State Univ. Scarborough, Ont.
Kelley Steadman F Jr. Mercyhurst College Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Zuzana Tomcikova G Sr. Bemidji State Univ. Bratislava, Slovakia
Rebecca Vint F Fr. Robert Morris Univ. Caledon, Ont.
Jenn Wakefield F Sr. Boston Univ. Pickering, Ont.