Link:
AHCA Release
GLOUCESTER, Mass. - After leading the No. 9-ranked Williams College women's ice hockey team to its second-ever win NCAA win and third appearance in the Elite Eight of the national tournament, senior goaltender
Erin Pye was announced on Friday afternoon as a finalist for the 2025-26 Laura Hurd Award.
The Hurd Award is given annually to the best NCAA Division III women's ice hockey student-athlete in the country. There are seven finalists for this year's honor, including Pye, Haylee Bouchard (Wilkes), Megan Goodreau (Wisconsin-River Falls), Sophia Hess (Wisconsin-River Falls), Riley Johnson (Adrian), Amy Laskowski (Nazareth) and Natalie Stott (Amherst). Molly Wasserman '04 won the Hurd Award for the Ephs in 2004.
The finalists were selected by the nation's Division III head coaches in a preliminary vote earlier this week. 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 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. The recipient of this year's Hurd Award will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four next week.
Pye was named NESCAC Player of the Year in 2025-26, while also earning a spot on the All-Conference First Team. She earned All-Conference Second Team accolades at the conclusion of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The Third Lake, Illinois, native is a five-time NESCAC Player of the Week honoree and ranks second across the entire NCAA landscape with a .964 save percentage this season.
Pye has powered the Ephs (18-4-5, 9-3-4 NESCAC) to their most single-season wins since 2018-19, while the team also hosted and won a NESCAC playoff game for the first time since 2018-19. During a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 11 Plattsburgh State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 14 at Lansing Chapman Rink in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Pye stopped 28-of-29 shots for a .966 save percentage, including making 15 enormous stops in the second period.
The Ephs compete in the Elite Eight Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time against No. 1 Wisconsin-River Falls at Hunt Arena in River Falls, Wisconsin. Three of the seven finalists for the Hurd Award will be on the ice in the game.
