Each year, the top players in NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey are recognized with the two most prestigious awards in college hockey, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Let’s break down the seasons of this year’s winners:
Casey O’Brien, University of Wisconsin
Casey O’Brien’s outstanding college career came to a fitting end, winning her third national championship at Wisconsin and the 2025 Patty Kazmaier award as the most outstanding player in NC women’s ice hockey.
📚 HISTORY: See the full history of the Patty Kaz award
O’Brien becomes the sixth Patty Kaz winner from the University of Wisconsin. Her Wisconsin teammates Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards were the other two finalists this year, making it only the second time in history that all three finalists were from the same team.
O’Brien led the nation in points with 88, which puts her tied for seventh-most in a single season in NCAA history, and her 62 assists put her third-most in NCAA history.
As if that wasn’t enough, O’Brien broke plenty of Wisconsin program records this season. Her 62 assists broke her previous school record (50), which she set in 2023-24. She also set a new Wisconsin record for points in a single season with her goal in the national semifinal against Minnesota.
O’Brien set Wisconsin records for career points (274) and career assists (177), and she passed Mike Eaves as the highest-scoring player in Wisconsin hockey history, men’s or women’s. She declared for the PWHL draft in an Instagram post on April 11, 2025, thanking Wisconsin fans for their support in her five seasons at the school.
Other accolades this season:
- WCHA Player of the Year
- WCHA Forward of the Year
- First Team All-WCHA
- First team All-American
🏆 CHAMPIONS: Wisconsin wins 2025 NC women’s ice hockey championship
Isaac Howard, Michigan State University
Isaac Howard becomes the first Michigan State player to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in 24 years and the third Spartan to win it all-time, joining program greats Kip Miller (1999) and Ryan Miller (2001). Howard beat out two of his teammates from USA Hockey’s 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship gold-medal winning team: standout Denver defenseman Zeev Buium and the nation’s leading goal-scorer, Boston College’s Ryan Leonard.
📚 HISTORY: A complete history of the Hobey Baker award
Howard was a force for the Spartans this season, putting up career-bests in goals (26) and points (52) in 37 games. He led the nation in points per game (1.41), and he finished third in goals and fifth in points. His biggest moment this season came when he scored two goals, including the game-winning goal in double overtime against No. 9 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.
WHO ELSE BUT ISAAC HOWARD ‼️‼️@MSU_Hockey goes back-to-back as #B1GHockey Tournament Champs 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PNRAETTGuu
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 23, 2025
Howard factored on every MSU goal in the Big Ten tournament, finishing with three goals and three assists en route to winning the Spartans’ second consecutive Big Ten championship. The Spartans came up short in the 2025 NCAA DI men’s ice hockey championship, losing in the dying seconds to Cornell in the regional semifinals. Still, Howard’s outstanding play extended into the tournament, as he finished the season with 13 points in his last 10 games.
Howard’s 52 points mark the first 50-point season by an MSU player since Taro Hirose scored 50 in 2018-19. His 26 goals are tied with Adam Hall (1999-00) for the most by an MSU player since Sean Berens scored 36 in 1997-98.
Other accolades this season:
- All-Big Ten First Team
- Big Ten Scoring Champion
- Big Ten Player of the Year
- Big Ten All-Tournament Team
- Big Ten Tournament Team
- Big Ten Tournament MVP
- AHCA West First Team All-American
