ALBANY — Alyssa Knauf, an Albany senior and forward for the Fury hockey team, was named as a finalist for the Jeff Sauer Award. Knauf has been on the team for four years and Team Wisconsin for five. 

The award is present annually to “recognize good high school hockey players being great people” and will be presented next week as part of the Wisconsin High School Hockey Coaches annual banquet. The annual award was designed to encourage community service among girls and boys high school hockey players in Wisconsin. It is named after Jeff Sauer, the legendary former University of Wisconsin coach and hockey ambassador, who died in February 2017.  It is modeled after the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is presented annually to college hockey’s finest citizen and seeks to recognize players who contribute to local communities.

The four statewide finalists includes Knauf, two boys and a girl: Zoe Uihlein, a senior forward from University School of Milwaukee; Luke Hessenauer, a senior defenseman from Milton; and Braden Kloida, a senior defenseman from the Brookfield Stars.