Jamie Lee Rattray, a senior from Clarkson University, won this year’s Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, a prize presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.
“Jamie Lee is the definition of hard work paying off,” said Matt Desrosiers, co-head coach of Clarkson University. “The energy she brings to every practice and game is unmatched and is infectious to the rest of her team. She embodies everything the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award represents; a top performer in the country, competitiveness, performance in the clutch, personal character, and most importantly a true passion and love for the game of hockey.”
2014 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Jamie Lee Rattray with Keynote Speaker and 2011 Award winner, Meghan Duggan
Aside from her impressive stats, Rattray is actively involved with her college women’s hockey program’s volunteer initiative with local youth hockey players. She also helped raise money for the Dalton Guyette Memorial Award to assist less fortunate children living near the school.
It has probably been mentioned before, but it is one of those defining things that deserves reiteration: I have a very serious addiction to Pinterest.
We’re talking, like, a my-day-doesn’t-start-unless-I-couple-my-first-coffee-with-a-Pinterest-rage type of addiction.
So naturally, if I need a little extra help on a game day putting my outfit together, my favorite site is my go-to guide.
Being that it’s spring, floral prints and sheer fabrics are all over the place. Great for a day at the park; not-so-great for throwing over black tights.
I found myself in an ensemble rut. I needed something cute to wear for the Sharks-Capitals game–particularly because the Sharks had the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth that night, an occasion that I decided warranted a new and fabulous frock.
Hmmmm Pinterest inspiration mixed with a playoff-caliber outfit?
After an hour scouring mall racks in my workout gear, I found the perfect match:
I found this little black-and-rose number at Forever 21, of all places. (And I say that because nothing there ever fits me, or holds my interest.)
It has cut-off sleeves, a bit of a crew neck, a modest length, and is made of a thick stretch cotton. The color scheme also makes it play well with my tights, leather jacket and moto boots.
The kicker? It was under 15 bucks. Done and done.
**FASHION EXTRA–THE BAG: I’ve preached before that taking a well-made utilitarian purse with lots of room is a good idea for game night.
This red tote is–drum roll, please–a free gift that I got when I first bought my bottle of Killer Queen by Katy Perry perfume.
It might not have pockets on the inside, but it is perfect for holding all of my game night essentials without having to squeeze anything into my computer bag.
You can always hit me up on Twitter at @ChelenaGoldman to share any of your own favorite game night looks. I’m always down to talk fashion and hockey–often at the same time!
“I just like to tell guys to give it time, you gotta let things run their course..if you aren’t playing right now you have to figure out what it is the coaches want, be proactive, talk to the coaching staff, talk to me and then just realize what role they need you to fill.”
Nick Mazzolini, Anchorage native and Captain of the Alaska Aces, feels both blessed and lucky to play hockey in the community he grew up in. It’s a tight knit community, and it’s something very special. He certainly doesn’t take for granted that he plays in his hometown, where on any given night he plays, his old coaches, teammates and his family and friends are there to support him and his team. For him, it’s an unreal feeling and despite playing for almost the last four years in the place he was raised, every night he has a home game, he’s excited to play.
Mazzolini started skating like most professional players, around the age of four, and began playing organized hockey at six years old. For many kids who go on to play the game, their parents are the driving force behind that first desire, but Nick’s parents didn’t know the first thing when it came to hockey. They were from Montana and moved up to Anchorage for the oil. It was a friend of the family who was a hockey coach that started the spark for Nick and as they say the rest is history. His parents had a lot of learning to do as their son played on a team.
“I remember one Christmas, the team gave us some presents. They were some hockey DVDs and we had to look up forecheck and backcheck, you know pretty basic terms but we weren’t sure what they were. My parents learned along with me.”
Mazzolini played with his coach’s kids who were a couple years older than he was and he remembers playing against his coach’s son at a few tournaments. His younger brother Andrew also played hockey, playing a little club hockey at the University of Las Vegas, making it to both regionals and nationals with the team. Andrew is a mechanical engineer now, working for an oil service company in Anchorage. His whole family supported his hockey journey and they inspired him to continue to work hard and play and they gave a lot of their time so that he could succeed.
“They sacrificed a lot for me to get to where I am today. My mother, father, brother, sister, they spent a lot of time at the rink for me. I mean I’m sure they were bored out of their minds and cold just so that I could skate around and try and realize my dreams. I definitely owe everything I have to their support.”
Growing up, Mazzolini definitely had players that he looked up to and inspired his game. The closest NHL team to Alaska is the Vancouver Canucks and Pavel Bure was a favourite of Mazzolini’s. He distinctly remembers his Aunt, who lived in Vancouver, managing to get Bure’s autograph on a shirt for him. Although he liked the Canucks, it was the influence of his good friend Nate Thompson that turned him on to the Detroit Redwings. He had a laundry list of players that caught his eye.
“I was always a big Brendan Shanahan fan…there’s a lot of great people there. You have Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, you have the Russian five, Chris Osgood, all those guys I grew up watching and loving.”
He played hockey in high school in Anchorage but then went to Andover, Massachusetts to prep school for his Senior Year. It was there that he met Cory Schneider and the two of them attended a Green Bay Gamblers showcase camp held during the summer. Nick remembers reading a USA Hockey magazine with his father while Cory was out on the ice and seeing his name listed under the NAHL draft. An expansion team, the Dayton Gems, had drafted him and he wasn’t even aware because there had been a coaching change. It was the beginning of a rough start in the world of the NAHL for Mazzolini, as the Dayton Gems were “around for a cup of coffee” and he was dispersal drafted out to the Toledo Icediggers. He played with them for about a month , all the while he asked them to shop him around to other teams, which they weren’t really amenable to, to put it kindly. Eventually, he ended up with the Texas Tornadoes, and it was the right fit for the growth of his game.
“I was 18-19 when this all happened. It wasn’t the smoothest start but it worked out for the best. I went down to Texas where I spent a year and a half, had an unreal time, met a lot of great friends, and won a couple championships.”
The Tornadoes coach, Tony Curtale, had a major impact on Mazzolini. Coach Curtale is considered one of the premier developers of young talent in North America. He led the Texas Tornadoes to 40 or more winning games and a division championship each season from 1999-2003. Between 2001 and 2006 he coached the team to four NAHL Robertson Cup Championships and got a fifth in the 2011-2012 season.
It was Curtale’s guidance, not just on the ice, that really helped Nick when he was living on his own. Curtale was rough around the edges, old school and intense. Mazzolini described him as the type of coach who treated his players as they behaved. If they acted like a professional, Curtale would treat them like a professional. If they didn’t, then that was a different story.
“He was more than a coach, he was intense. I know that he was misunderstood by a lot of people for sure. He did a great job and I loved playing for him and I know the rest of the guys did too. He’d win games and he did exactly what was asked of him. I loved playing for Tony.”
After playing with the Tornadoes and the NAHL, Mazzolini decided to pursue college hockey, opting to get an education while playing the sport he loved.He took the college route for himself because it was the smart decision, knowing that hockey doesn’t last forever. He attended Providence College, home of the Friars, playing hockey and pursuing a marketing degree. He played four seasons of NCAA hockey from 2005-2009 and scored 25 goals, contributed 42 assists for a total of 67 points in 128 games played and registered 147 penalty minutes. His junior year he had his first taste of the captaincy wearing the “A” for the Friars playing in 32 games. Looking back, Mazzolini doesn’t regret taking the college route despite it slowing down his professional playing career.
“Coach Curtale absolutely hated college because it’s nothing like the pros. It’s like taking a step backward in your hockey development. You just run and gun, there isn’t as much systems. I think the only thing it took away from me was years. I was already older heading in to college so by the time I was out I was a 25 year old rookie in the ECHL but in no way shape or form do I regret it.”
Mazzolini joined the ECHL Alaska Aces as a rookie for the 2009-2010 season and had a fantastic year, leading the team in goals, assists and points. He was also selected as a 2010 ECHL All-Star. The following season he opted to join HC Bolzano in Italy. With Italian roots on both sides of the family, Nick went overseas with the idea of applying for dual citizenship so that he could play for them in international play. Things didn’t end up working out but the time he spent in Italy was a memorable one, full of good food, amazing travel, and a great group of guys that he played with. He then returned to the Aces, where he has been ever since.
During the 2012-2013 season, Mazzolini served as the alternate captain for the Aces and was named to the All-ECHL Second Team. He led his team in goals and was tied for second in the league with 36 for the year. Known for his shorthanded goal scoring success at Providence College, Mazzolini tied the league in shorthanded goals with 4 and had over 20 multi-point games that year. He essentially hadn’t missed a stride with the Aces despite going overseas for a season and his dedication and work ethic came through both on and off the ice. At the beginning of this season, Mazzolini wanted the captaincy and he actively pursued the responsibility.
“I definitely went out and tried to get it. It took awhile for them to appoint me captain. They were very adamant about the players getting to know me before appointing me captain, which is a wise decision. It didn’t slow me down; it just made me hungrier for that captaincy. It’s something I really like. I like leading, I don’t like following, that is kind of what has got me in trouble before.”
He takes his role as captain very seriously and he has a lot of pride in his leadership role. He is honored that the coaches have placed trust in his ability but it means even more that the players and his peers look to him to make the right decision in certain situations. He knows it can be a little daunting for many of the new guys to not only play in the ECHL but also to make the trek to Alaska to play.
“When you first hear you are going to Alaska, I can only imagine what goes through most of the guys’ minds. But as soon as they get up here they see how well taken care of we are. The guys love playing here.”
As Captain, Mazzolini tries to share the little tidbits of knowledge he has picked up in his hockey career. He draws from the players he’s played with, like ECHL Hall of Famer and Alaska Aces phenom Wes Goldie or former Aces captain Brian Swanson. His personal journey has given him a lot of perspective on the game. He has battled through adversity and injury to get to where he is now and one of the most important things he has learned is patience with letting things play out and take their course.
“I like to tell guys, you know give it time. I barely made it onto the Alaska Aces roster my rookie season after I had knee surgery in the offseason. I went to Peoria camp and I was on the 21 day IR. I think the only reason they kept me around was because Brent Thompson was the assistant coach for Peoria the year before and he actually went to the camp. He saw me skate and knew I could bring something to the team so he stuck with me and I’m appreciative for that.”
Battling through an injury Mazzolini says is a challenge, but it makes you stronger. His junior year at Providence College, he went knee to knee during the playoffs at Boston College. He dislocated his kneecap and tried to rehab over the summer but then continued to have problems with it his senior year before opting for surgery at the end of the season.
“The rehab, it never ends. You are always working on it every single day. I mean it’s a pain, but it keeps you honest, it keeps you motivated, and it keeps you doing something.”
Players coming in to any league have to be proactive about their game Mazzolini stresses, and they have to be willing to be flexible about their role on the team. If they aren’t playing, they have to figure out what the coaches want, talk to them and talk to their captain to see what role needs to be filled. When you are just starting out, you really have to be a multi-purpose tool, be prepared to step in and the opportunities will come.
“It blew my mind when my buddy Nate Thompson was in Providence (Bruins) while I was playing for the Friars and he told me the 3rd and 4th line guys were getting called up more than the 1st and 2nd line guys because those are the guys that get hurt and need to be replaced. It really kind of opened my eyes and I realized that hey if you are not scoring or you aren’t producing offensively you have to be able to affect the game in a positive way. Whether it’s the PK, whether its hitting or whether its bringing energy to the team.”
Mazzolini’s patience, perseverance and letting his game take time to develop has paid in Aces for the captain. The numbers he has put up this season are impressive, along with ECHL Sherwood Hockey Player of the Week honors and runner-up status for ECHL Player of the Month honors for February. In his 61 games played this season, he is at a point a game pace with 21 goals and 40 assists, with much of that success being shared with his linemates Peter Sivak(26g-46a, 72 points in 58 games played) and Brendan Connolly (20g-26a, 46 points in 46 games played), who is now in the AHL playing with the Abbotsford Heat. Mazzolini thinks their success is a combination of all of them working toward a common goal and that their skillsets complement one another so well.
“Connolly reminded me a lot of myself, just a little bit smaller stature in body and he has a nose for the net. He sees the ice so well and makes passes that you wouldn’t expect to get through. Pete just has such a quick and hard accurate shot that he can just snipe from anywhere but he’s also smart enough to know what to do if you are cycling in the corner. He can get himself open or create some space.”
Sivak, Mazzolini, and Connolly have been able to find each other out on the ice and get the bounces to make the plays that score goals. Mazzolini says that they’ve taken advantage of it for as long as they can. With Connolly up in the AHL, Tyler Mosienko has stepped in and filled his role nicely, recording 3g-10a-13p in 16 games played, although not all of those game has he been on the top line with Sivak and Mazzolini.
The Aces are making yet another playoff push and again they find themselves in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference, led by their captain Nick Mazzolini. The Aces have an unreal home record every season and their Olympic sized ice surface may play some role in their at-home success. It takes some adjustment time for the visiting team, but Mazzolini doesn’t think it is any different than what the Aces experience visiting NHL sized rinks where there is less time and space. He thinks the secret to the Aces incredible home stand is in the people that fill the stands and support them in the community.
“I think it’s our fans, the atmosphere and just the way we feed off of the fans. They encourage us when we are up and when we are down. They keep us going and as the season goes on and guys build more of a rapport with the town, we just seem to get stronger.”
One thing is for certain, part of the Aces’ success lies with their Captain, who like his team, gets stronger as the season progresses.
Bridgewater’s first grader, Danny Keefe will be Patrice Bergeron’s guest in Patrice’s Pals when the Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, March 27th.
Danny suffers from a speech impediment and he chooses to wear a suit, tie and fedora to school every day. He also serves as the Water Coach for the Bridgewater Badgers Peewee Football team.
Patrice Bergeron “Stand Together” program (Photo: Boston Bruins)
When the kids at school began to bully Danny for being different, his football teammates hosted a “Danny Appreciation Day,” created by 5th grade quarterback Tommy Cooney. During “Danny Appreciation Day” the Peewee football team wore suits and ties to school to support their teammate. The football team should be applauded for their efforts to stop bullying. And as a reward for their bravery, Bergeron and the Bruins will host Danny and his teammates on Thursday night.
After the game Danny will get a chance for a private meet-and-greet with Bergeron and members of the Bruins will be giving Danny ties from their personal collection. And that’s not all. Mr. Sid, men’s boutique located in Newton, Mass., will create a custom Sid-Equire suit for Danny.
Hopefully the kids at Danny’s school understand what they did was wrong. It’s a shame that Danny is not embraced for his individuality. Perhaps his special experience with the Bruins will offset some of the negativity he has experienced in his young life.
For more information on how you can get involved in stopping bullying, visit one of these sites and get involved:
The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Petteri Lindbohm, 20, to a three-year entry-level contract. The 6’2″, 195-pound defenseman is a native of Helsinki, Finland.
Lindbohm plays in the Finland SM-Liiga League, and was originally drafted by the Blues in the sixth round of the 2012 Entry Draft.
He has dressed for 37 games between Porin Ässät and Jokerit Helsinki and has one goal and five assists (six points) and 26 penalty minutes. Last season he had four assists and 61 penalty minutes in 35 games for Jokerit Helsinki.
The Blues drafted Pochiro in the fourth round, 112th overall, of the 2013 draft. Pochiro was born in St. Louis, and has spent the past two years playing for the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He ranks third in points with the Cougars with 27 goals and 39 assists.
At the 2013 Prospect Tournament, in Traverse City, Michigan, he registered on goal, one assists, and eight penalty minutes in four games.
Nineteen-year-old Finnish goaltender Joonas Korpisalo has signed a three-year entry level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, team General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.
Korpisalo was drafted 62nd overall at the 2012 NHL Draft, the Blue Jackets’ 3rd pick. His resume includes a 1.422 GAA and .957 SV% in eight appearances in the Finnish Elite League with the Ilves this season and the Jorma Valtonen Award for best goaltender in Finland’s top junior league in 2011-2012. He represented Finland in the 2012 and then 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships.
The Blue Jackets will face the New York Rangers at home tonight at 7p.m. ET.
At the end of the 2013-2014 regular season, the Montreal Stars had 42 points and an 11-1-0 record at home (8-1-2 away). Their .913 PCT blew that of their closest competitor, the Boston Blades with .542, completely out of the water.
They were, in other words, more than just the “heavy favorite” going into the Clarkson Cup playoffs round robin this year. They were Goliath. They were Beyonce. They were the closest thing that hockey ever gets to a sure thing.
The Toronto Furies, on the other hand, finished the regular season in second-to-last place. Their home record was 5-6-0, and 5-4-3 away. They tallied a total of 23 points.
I don’t want to overextend the David/Goliath metaphor, but come on.
Like any close game, especially in the playoffs, this particular battle was not without controversy. Montreal — the CWHL team with the least penalty minutes in the regular season — spent 16 minutes in the penalty box between 8 infractions, three of which belonged to this year’s MVP and Angela James Bowl winner Ann-Sophie Bettez. The most notable call came against Julie Chu in overtime, shortly after an arguably more egregious infraction from the Furies went unnoticed (or at least uncalled).
In a game like this one, tied through a regular overtime at one goal a side, infraction oversight can completely change the outcome. Who’s to say what would have happened had Montreal stolen those two minutes of man advantage?
Then again, in a bout with 13 powerplay opportunities, neither team managed to convert. Both regulation goals were scored at full strength, first by Toronto’s Jenelle Kohanckuk (with assists from Natalie Spooner and Tessa Bonhomme) in the second period and then Montreal’s Emmanuelle Blais (with an assist from Stacie Tardiff) in the third.
It would be too easy, I think, to blame the penalties for Toronto’s victory. The truth is more complicated. The Furies played a good game, first of all; they were steady, they didn’t panic or fall apart after mistakes, and most importantly they kept pushing, all sixty minutes and beyond. That’s the kind of effort you have to bring when playing a team like Montreal, a team that has totally dominated the season and whose roster reads like Who’s Who of women’s hockey.
The Furies managed to scrabble themselves into the playoffs, but they clearly have no intention of merely scrabbling through it. Their impressive efforts against Boston and Calgary proved that.
It’s true that Montreal got unlucky, that this was a coin flip of a game in many ways. But that doesn’t mean Toronto didn’t earn their spot in the Clarkson Cup Final against Boston tomorrow. For American viewers, the match will be streamed live online via the CWHL website; for Canadians, it will air on TSN.
Boston is almost certainly the heavy favorite to win, as they’re defending last year’s Clarkson Cup champion title and finished second overall in the regular season.
Then again, Toronto met and conquered the best of the league’s best today, and I’m not sure there’s a shepherd in the world who could have taken on David in a bar fight the day after he took down Goliath.
The 17th annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Ceremony and Brunch takes place tomorrow, March 22, and former winner Meghan Duggan will give the keynote speech at the event. Duggan, who captained the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award herself in 2011. She helped the U.S. Women bring home silver medals in the last two Winter Olympics and has represented Team USA in five International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships, winning gold four times.
The USA Hockey Foundation grants the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award every year to the top NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey player; who joins a list of names studded with Olympic athletes and advocates for the growth of women’s hockey. The three finalists for this year’s award include sophomore forward Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn./University of Minnesota), senior forward Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ontario/Clarkson University) and junior forward Jillian Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia/Cornell University)
Brandt leads the nation in points (61), assists (40) and assists per game (1.11). She is tied for ninth in the NCAA in goals (21) and tied for 14th in game-winning goals (4). The sophomore leads the WCHA in points (46) and assists (30) in conference play and is tied for second in goals (16). The Vadnais Heights, Minn., native has been named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week once this season and was selected as a WCHA Scholar Athlete. Off the ice, she volunteered with the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital, Special Olympics of Minnesota, Roseville Youth Hockey Association, Minneapolis Youth Hockey Association, University of Minnesota Medical Center Fairview Hospital, Hope Kids and the Maplewood Care Center.
JAMIE LEE RATTRAY
Rattray ranks second in the NCAA in points (57) and goals (28), and is tied for seventh in assists (29). She leads the NCAA in power-play tallies (9) and is tied for sixth nationally in game-winning markers (5). The senior forward ranks first in the ECAC in points (44), and second in the league in both goals (21) and assists (23) during league play. A three-time ECAC Player of the Month (November, December, January) and three-time ECAC Player of the Week, she has also been honored as a five-time member of the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll. Rattray is an active member in the Clarkson women’s hockey team’s participation with the Lil’ Knight Club, which volunteers with youth hockey players in the area. She also helped paint the Helping Hands building in Potsdam, N.Y., and assisted in fundraising for the Dalton Guyette Memorial Award, given annually to provide opportunities to less fortunate children in the area.
JILLIAN SAULNIER
Saulnier is fifth in the NCAA in points (52), second nationally in goals-per-game (0.84), tied for third in goals (26) and 12th in assists (26). The Cornell junior leads the ECAC in goals (22) and ranks second in points (43) during conference outings while sitting in a third-place tie among ECAC skaters with 21 assists. She was named ECAC Player of the Week on Feb. 11. Away from the rink, Saulnier participated in the Do it for Daron game on Jan. 31 to raise awareness for mental health issues, as well as the Athlete Ally game to show support for LGBT inclusion within sports. Additionally, she registered to donate bone marrow through Be The Match registry, helped raise money for the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes region and actively served in the Cub Club Little Sister Organization.
ABOUT THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually awarded to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement.
ABOUT PATTY KAZMAIER
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
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