Caroline Harvey was praised by teammates, including All-American Laila Edwards, and Wisconsin coach Mark Johnston after her Patty Kazmaier victory the day before the National Championship final.
After Caroline Harvey won the 29th Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, there was a rush of family and friends and a cheers from Wisconsin crowd that took up half of the auditorium in State College. At the end of a historic six weeks, where Harvey has won MVP of the Olympic Games after taking home a gold medal, made it to her fourth consecutive NCAA Championship game, she brought home the most storied award in women's hockey.
"I can't imagine being in her shoes... I'm sure it hasn't sank in right now but today adds to that legacy of her, and obviously after tomorrow's game, she won't be around any longer, and we're certainly going to miss her," Mark Johnson, the University of Wisconsin's head coach, said.
Her Wisconsin and Team USA teammate, Laila Edwards, received a special shout out in Harvey's acceptance speech. "To my best friend Laila, thank you for everything. It's been quite the ride with you. I'll miss your constant friendship and the daily connection we share both on and off ice.”
After the game, Edwards reflected on how long she's known Harvey and the inspiration she is for other players and herself, first taking a moment to remember when they first met at 10 and 11 or 12, "I was like, yeah, this girl's feisty. She kept getting penalties for body checking. And I was pissed at her because we kept going on the PK. But I was like, she's so good. We'd rather her on the ice."
"I'm so proud of what she's done on the ice but I'm far more proud of who she's become off the ice and she's inspired so many people like myself."
The award was between Tessa Janecke, Abbey Murphy and Harvey. All were Team USA gold medalists and seniors who had previously been finalists. Harvey is second in all-time points by a defender with 200 points in 146 games.
Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey at the Patty Kazmaier ceremony - © Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images"You don't know who's going to be called," Harvey said on what it was like to accept the award. "You're in shock a bit, overwhelmed. It's like the best emotion, obviously, excitement. I couldn't do it without my family, friends, teammates, everyone. I was just super grateful."
Johnson spoke about her development as a player in the four years he's coached her.
"I remember when she came in her freshman year and we all knew she was going to be a wonderful player and have an impact on us for a long period of time, but the thing that I take away is her growth off the ice and the maturity and what she is now and what she's become, it's all credit to her because she really works at her craft," Johnson said.
"A lot of elite players might pause for moments, take days off or feel good about themselves. She's not one of those, she continues to work hard and she's gotten better over the course of the time she's been with us."
Kirsten Simms, who has also played with Harvey for all four years at Wisconsin, praised her leadership and commitment. The pair had been the goal and assist on the game-winning overtime goal at the Penn State Frozen Four game the night before.
"She was a veteran right as she got here. Yeah, she's grown over the years, but I mean, I looked up to her when I was a freshman and she's in the same class as me. Like, I want to be on the ice with her all the time, doing extra work, doing extra skills, doing all those things, and those are habits she's had since she was in high school and before then. You won't find that very often," Simms said. "She never lets the foot off the gas, and she always wants to learn new things and continue to grow in her game, and she's only going to become more dominant as the years go down."