Troy, MI — [March 30, 2024] The American Collegiate Hockey Association announced today the 2024 recipient of the Women’s Division One Zoe Harris, Player of the Year, award is Kayla Flanigan from Midland University. The Zoe Harris Award, which recognizes the ACHA’s regular season player of the year, is the top individual award a player can receive. The Zoe Harris award is decided on by the competition committee, which is made up of seven coaches in the division.
“Kayla is a fantastic hockey player. There were many intricate pieces to Midland’s program, but she was one that you had to be aware of every time she stepped on the ice. You grow to respect players of that talent and always have to make sure that you prepare and know what to expect in situations where they can be a threat. Every year Midland continues to grow as a program and she was a big part of that,” said Minot State University Head Coach, Ryan Miner.
Flanigan is a senior from Omaha, Nebraska majoring in business management and psychology. She was Co-Captains this season, and previously Assistant Captain of the Warriors. This season she played in 32 games. During those games, she scored fourteen goals, and had thirty-two assists for a total of 46 points. She had two power play goals, one short handed goal, and two game winning goals. During her three years at Midland (not including the 2020-2021 season), Flanigan has played in 102 games with the Warriors. During those games, she had 54 goals, 74 assists for a total of 128 points. She had 11 game winning goals, 12 power play goals, and 2 short handed goals. Flanigan came to Midland after playing with the Omaha Junior Lancers youth program.
“Kayla had an outstanding season and played a big part in our team’s success this year. She is an amazing person that always puts the team before herself. Her leadership on and off the ice combined with a relentless work ethic and no quit attitude really helped shape and mold our program's culture. I am so proud of Kayla winning this award and very grateful for the impact that she has had on our program,” said Midland Head Coach, Jason White.
Other finalists for the award were Mady Johnsen from Maryville University, and Allison Shaw from Adrian College.
The Zoe Harris Award is named in honor of Zoe Harris, who was instrumental in pioneering the birth of the Women’s Division in the year 2000. She served as Co-Vice President of the division and worked tirelessly recruiting the first women’s teams into the division. She established a set of rules and regulations for the new division that were eventually incorporated into the ACHA Policies and Procedures Manual. Zoe was also instrumental in the appointment of the first women’s commissioner. All of these efforts were accomplished as Zoe was coaching the ACHA Men’s Division II team at the University of Washington.
