The seven finalists for the 2018 Laura Hurd Award were announced on Tuesday and Lake Forest College's Olivia Spellmire was among the candidates to be named American Hockey Coaches Association Women's Ice Hockey Player of the Year. The recipient of this year's Hurd Award will be announced Thursday evening at 6:45 (EST) during the student-athlete banquet at the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship in Northfield, Vermont.
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Spellmire, a senior forward and the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year, joined the top player from each of the other six Division III leagues on the list. She led the NCHA and ranks fourth in the country with 51 points, tied-for-seventh with 23 goals, tied-for-fourth with a program record 28 assists. Spellmire had at least one goal or assist in 24 of 29 contests with 15 multi-point performances this season. She finished the Foresters' four conference tournament games with four goals and six assists to earn Slaats Cup Playoff Most Valuable Player honors.
Spellmire is Lake Forest's all-time leader with 79 career assists, 21 more than the second player on the list. She also ranks second in program history with 132 points, tied-for-third with 53 goals, third with 11 game-winning scores, and fifth with 15 power play goals. She is the second Forester to be named a Hurd Award finalist, joining former teammate Michelle Greeneway, who won the award in 2016.
Sponsored by the AHCA, the Hurd Award honors the memory of former Elmira College standout Laura Hurd. A four-time All-American, Hurd died in an automobile accident shortly after graduating from Elmira College in 2005. She was the recipient of the AHCA Player of the Year Award as a senior.
