WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University's Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) was voted the best of the best in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference earlier this month, when the conference coaches voted the Cardinal senior the MIAC Co-Player of the Year.
 
That recognition has officially expanded from the MIAC to the entire country.
 
Ziakas was named one of nine finalists for the 2022 Laura Hurd Award, presented annually to the best NCAA Division III women's ice hockey player in the country. Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA), the Hurd Award honors the memory of former Elmira College standout Laura Hurd. A 2005 graduate of Elmira, and a four-time All-American, Hurd died in an automobile accident shortly after graduation. She was the recipient of the AHCA Player of the Year Award in 2005.
 
On Thursday, the AHCA named UW-River Falls' Callie Hoff as this year's Laura Hurd winner, after the Falcon senior completed her decorated career with a Falcon single-season record 67 points off 26 goals and 41 assist. She led UW-RF to a program-record 27 wins while also earning the second of back-to-back WIAC Player of the Year honors.
 
Ziakas, the only goalie among the nine finalists — which also included Hamline's Sophie Rausch, who shared MIAC Player of the Year honors — appeared in 21 of the team's 25 games this season, boasting a 2.44 GAA and .914 save percentage with a career-high 488 saves. She posted the best performance of her five-year collegiate career against Gustavus on Jan. 28 stopping 55 of the 56 shots she faced. The 55 saves were the most since Ashley Corcoran made 56 saves against Gustavus on Feb. 3, 2017.
 
Ziakas — who helped guide Saint Mary's to a third-place finish in the MIAC's regular-season standings, not to mention a spot in the MIAC Playoff semifinals — also recorded two shutouts during her final season in 2021-22 — stopping all 12 shots she faced against Johnson & Wales on Jan. 5, and added a 29-save effort in blanking St. Catherine on Feb. 4.
 
Besides Ziakas, Hoff, and Rausch, the other finalists for this year's Laura Hurd award included Eliza Beaudin (Elmira), Shana Cote (Suffolk), Annie Katonka (Plattsburgh State), Madie Leidt (Middlebury), Georgiana Santullo (Utica), and Brandi Wilson (Trine).