No one embodies Cornell hockey more than senior forward Izzy Daniel, the first Cornell graduate to win the Patty Kazmaier Award. Daniel is not only a product of the program, but also a builder who led the team out of the COVID-19 pandemic and back into NCAA title contention.
Along the way, she became beloved by her teammates both on and off the ice through her personality, confidence, and humility. It's been five years since she arrived in Ithaca, where Danielle departed as one of the best women's hockey players to ever wear carnelian and white.
Daniel comes to East Hill from the Blake School in Minneapolis, Minn., where he won two state championships and earned All-State honors two years in a row during his four years of playing varsity hockey.
Ultimately, the reason she came to Cornell was the people.
“It was a difficult decision, but it was made possible by my visit to Cornell University and the people I met here,” Daniel said. “Of course the campus was beautiful, but the people and culture were even more beautiful.”
Danielle's initial fascination with the people who make up the women's hockey program would end up being proven correct many times over her four years on campus.
“From the moment she arrived at Cornell, we knew she would do great at Cornell,” said Jaime Bourbonnais ’20, Daniel’s former teammate and Olympian and Women’s Professional Hockey League player. Told.
When Daniel arrived on campus in the fall of 2019, he joined the team that had been selected for Frozen 4 the previous spring for the first time since 2012. She made an immediate impact. Daniel finished the season with 17 points and was seventh on the team with 14 assists. She was a key piece on the impressive power play, often playing alongside future PWHL players such as Christine O'Neal '20 and Micah Zandi Hart '20. Bourbonnais.
“She adapted really well to the speed of the game from the moment she first put on the jersey, which is pretty remarkable,” Bourbonnais said.
But Daniel's impact reached far beyond the ice sheet.
“Between Micah, Jamie Bourbonnais and myself, I think in a way we all took Izzy under our wings,” O'Neal said. “During our senior year, she really looked up to all three of us, and I think that relationship was very special,” O'Neal said.
The feeling was mutual.
“I was really fortunate to have such great leadership in my first year, and everyone on the team showed me what it meant to be in this program,” Daniel said. .
Danielle learned well, and she learned fast.
“As soon as she stepped foot on campus, she made an impact on our team both on and off the ice,” Bourbonnais said. “Obviously she's a great player, but she's also a really great person and she brought the team really close.”
Daniel's freshman season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cornell University, ranked No. 1 in the nation and the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, was robbed of its chance to win its first national championship.
The pandemic and subsequent cancellation of the 2020-21 season, Daniel's second season, will be a personal turning point for Daniel.
“When I found out I wouldn't be playing, I chose to return to my hometown in Minnesota rather than continue attending Cornell University,” Daniel said. “That's when I started taking hockey and my career more seriously, especially my career off the ice.
Daniel said he spent time away from Cornell to improve his physical strength and on-ice mechanics, which he said was “a huge difference maker.”
“I got a lot stronger, a lot faster, and it really showed on the ice,” Daniel said.
Statistics show the same thing. Daniel's 2021-22 season ranked second on the team in points (32) and assists (24) and third in goals (32). During her sophomore year, she was named to the All-ECAC Hockey Third Team and received All-Ivy League Honorable Mention, but her team ultimately lost to Colgate in the ECAC Quarterfinals. was defeated.
Daniel’s third graders told a similar story. Daniel tied Gillis Frechette '23 for the team lead in goals, assists and points, earned All-ECAC Second Team honors and was nominated for the Patti Kazmaier Award. The team improved to 16 wins, 14 losses, and 2 draws, but still could not make it out of the ECAC quarterfinals.
I feel like ” [it has] It was a process of rebuilding our culture during the coronavirus pandemic,” Daniel said. “In a sense, we had to start from scratch.”
By Daniel's senior year, it was time for the freshman, who had once benefited from a strong bond with his senior teammates, to give back.
“I’m really close with the seniors, especially Izzy,” freshman forward Karel Prefontaine said. “All the freshmen get along well with the upperclassmen and we love them very much.”
Cornell University won its first two non-exhibition games against the then-number one university by three goals each. 13 Penn State and Daniel sensed that something big was forming.
“I think that’s when we realized we had a really great team here, a great group, and we could do something really special,” Daniel said.
During his senior season, Daniel embarked on his first NCAA Tournament. What he was sorely deprived of from 2019 to 2020 has finally arrived four years later. Unfortunately for Danielle and her teammates, their season ended in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Colgate in the district final, but that didn't cloud Danielle's tremendous praise.
Daniel finished his final year at Cornell with exhaustive titles including ECAC Player of the Year, Ivy League Player of the Year, unanimous All-ECAC First Team, National Collegiate Hockey Association First Team, and National Collegiate Hockey Online First Team. I ended with a list. All-American and First Team All-Ivy.
The senior finished second in the nation in assists per game, seventh in goals per game and third in points per game. But she made Daniel special, and it was her leadership on and off the ice that set her apart from the two Wisconsin Badgers who were runners-up for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
On the ice, Daniel was clearly the best player for Cornell. MVP caliber. But off? He's an even better person.
