GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? Former University of North Dakota standout and New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise has been named one of three finalists for the National Hockey League's Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

The Lady Byng Trophy is awarded to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

Parise is coming off of the finest season of his four-year career with the Devils, finishing third in the NHL with 45 goals and fifth with 95 points, both career highs.

He amassed only 24 penalty minutes despite leading all New Jersey forwards with just under 19 minutes of ice time per game. The Faribault, Minn., native also registered a +30 plus/minus rating to finish eighth in the NHL.

Parise played two years at UND from 2002-04 and was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist in each of his two seasons. He collected 49 goals and 67 assists for 116 points in 76 career games and led the Sioux to a Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championship in 2004.

Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk and Tampa Bay forward Martin St. Louis are the other two finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy. Datsyuk has won the award in each of the last three seasons.

The winner will be announced at the 2009 NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on June 18. The ceremony will be broadcast on Versus in the United States and on the CBC in Canada.