Although the Dartmouth women's hockey team failed to reach the Frozen Four, Carly Haggard '03 represented the team at the tournament hosted by the University of New Hampshire as one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
The fifth annual honor given to the best women's hockey player in the country was presented to Northeastern's Brooke Whitney, whose 32 goals and 24 assists also made her the most valuable player in the ECAC East.
Haggard will not exactly leave her junior year empty-handed, as she was decorated with ECAC North and co-Ivy League player of the year honors.
"It's a great honor to even be nominated," said the gracious forward from Port Alberni, B.C.
"At the beginning of the year, I didn't dream of being in the top 10. To get down to three, it's just such a great honor that I can't explain it. I played with Brooke last summer, and it couldn't have gone to a better person."
Haggard's achievement was indeed recognized on the national level, as she found a spot on the first team of the 2001-02 JOFA/AHCA women's university division I All-America team. She led the league in points per game (2.22) and goals (37), with a career high points total of 71.
In women's hockey history at Dartmouth, only two other players have earned All-America honors. Haggard joins the illustrious company of Sarah Hood '98 and Correne Bredin '02 (who took a leave of absence from Dartmouth this past year to skate with the Canadian national team).
Haggard's remarkable ability on the ice has always been recognized and well-respected by her teammates.
"Carly makes scoring look easy. Every time she takes the puck hard to the net, it seems to go in. People say that the ability to score is a gift, that it's impossible to teach. She has had that ability since the first day she skated for Dartmouth," co-captain Kim McCullough '02 said.
"But it is her improvement in other aspects of her game that is most impressive. She has gotten better every season and really took on a leadership role with the team this year. It will be great to watch what she and the rest of the team can accomplish next season," McCullough said.
Next season, Haggard will lead a Big Green team that welcomes the return of another superstar of women's hockey in Correne Bredin and newcomers Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps, both of whom deferred admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2005 to play for Canada.
The 2001-02 season was ultimately not what Haggard and the rest of the Big Green had hoped it to be, as a devastating overtime loss in the ECAC North Championship closed the door on Frozen Four aspirations for Dartmouth. Despite finishing the season with a 24-6-2 record, a second straight Ivy League title, and a regular season ECAC North crown, the Big Green could not run the table in the tournament, dropping the final match of the season to the Brown Bears, 4-3.
Carly Haggard now turns to softball, as the two-sport athlete will contribute her talents on the field to the 8-6 Big Green squad. Haggard hit her first career home run earlier this season against Cornell. Co-captain of the Big Green hockey squad, Kristin King '02 also plays for Dartmouth's varsity softball team.
