By an overwhelming margin, the nation’s women’s Division III head coaches have voted to name the AHCA Women’s College Division Player of the Year Award after Laura Hurd. The 2005 AHCA National College Division Player of the Year and a distinguished member of the Elmira College Class of 2005, Laura Hurd, passed away tragically in a single vehicle accident outside Watkins Glen, NY on June 23, 2006. She was 24.

Said her coach, Paul Nemetz-Carlson, “An honor scholar destined for success, she was bright, funny, talented, and all we hope to embody in the ideal student-athlete. The best player on the ice every day in games and practice, she played hockey in a way that reflects the character, commitment, and drive for excellence this award values and honors. She eschewed individual attention, conducted herself with humility, and valued being a teammate above all else.”

In the development of Division III women’s hockey and its emergence as an NCAA sponsored sport, Hurd was a leader and accumulator of firsts. During her freshman season, she led her first-year program to victory in the first ever NCAA sponsored Division III Championship, not only setting a existing single season records for goals (40) and points (77), but also scoring the game winner in the 2-1 championship victory. Over her four year career, she led her teams to four ECAC West titles, the right to host three NCAA Final Fours, and to victory in the first two Division III NCAA Championships. She was the second athlete to be recognized as a First-Team All-American on the first four teams sponsored by the national AHCA body (as was Catherine Elkins of Middlebury).

Added Nemetz-Carlson, “Laura Hurd’s play and personality represented the best and brightest our game has had to offer, and hope that her spirit, her intelligence, and her passion can continue to inspire and drive female hockey players as we honor her and them in naming the Player of the Year in her memory.”

Hurd’s statistical legacy*:
NCAA Champion - 2002, 2003
ECAC West Champion - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
First-Team AHCA All-American - 4 Times
First-Team All-ECAC West - 4 Times
National Player of the Year - 2005
ECAC West Player of the Year - 2001, 2005
AWHCA Honor Scholar - 3 Times
West All-Academic Team - 3 Times
Elmira College Women’s Ice Hockey MVP - 2002, 2004, 2005
NCAA Statistical Leader - 6 Times
Single Season Division III Record Holder - Goals (40), Points (77) 2nd
All-Time NCAA Division III History - Points 237
*Source: Elmira College