The Hobey Baker Award is given to the NCAA outstanding men’s ice hockey player.
This is the 29th year for the award and will be presented May 6, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The honor is named after Hobey Baker, a former collegiate standout at Princeton who was killed in action during World War I. The aviation pioneer was known for his outstanding strength of character besides his tremendous ice hockey ability.
This years finalists are: Bobby Butler, New Hampshire, Marc Cheverie, Denver, Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin, Gustav Nyquist, Maine, Mark Olver, Northern Michigan, Chase Polacek, Rensselear, Rhett Rakhshani, Denver, Cody Reichard, Miami of Ohio, Ben Scrivens, Cornell, and Brendan Smith, Wisconsin.
The ten finalists were selected by voting from all 58 Division I- college hockey head coaches and by online balloting at hobeybaker.com. Next, the 24-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting from March 20-28, will determine this year’s Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: strength of character on and off the ice, displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
Hobey Baker Award Ambassadors: Raymond Rolak, Alex Dochr and Jon Doehr discus this years finalists at the CCHA-RBC Awards Gala in Detroit recently. The winner will be announced at the NCAA men’s ice hockey “Frozen Four” on April 9.
Photo by Jonathon Knight
The Top Ten Hobey Baker Award Finalists
Bobby Butler – University of New Hampshire, Senior, Forward, Marlboro, Massachusetts
Evolving into a prolific goal scorer, Butler leads the nation in goal scoring with 27 in 37 games to date and was honored by Hockey East as their Player of the Year. The 21 goals he bagged in 27 conference games topped the league while his 50 points on the season is sixth best in the nation. He has 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points in 37 games – 7 power play goals.
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Marc Cheverie – University of Denver, Junior, Goalie, Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia
An unbelievable year has earned Cheverie the WCHA Player of the Year honors and he is the national leader in save percentage, wins and shutouts while sitting second in winning percentage and third in goals against average. He was the WCHA Goalie Champion with a 2.05 GAA and .934 save percentage.
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Blake Geoffrion – University of Wisconsin, Senior, Forward, Brentwood, Tennessee
The second-year captain has been especially strong in WCHA play. Geoffrion leads the conference in goals with 19, power play goals with 11 and is second in points with 34, all good enough to garner First Team all-star honors. He has an amazing 23% shooting percentage and is a great penalty killer. He’s a Consumer Science major. Hockey pedigree as his father Danny, granddad Bernie “Boom Boom” and great grandpa Howie Morenz all played for Montreal Canadiens
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Gustav Nyquist – University of Maine, Sophomore, Forward, Malmo, Sweden
For the second straight year, this scoring whiz has led his team in points and this year has expanded his horizon to lead the entire nation with 59 points and in assists with 41 – all that in 37 games played. Nyquist was runner-up for Hockey East Player of the Year and was selected to the league First Team. Tied for first in Hockey East scoring – 41 points.
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Mark Olver – Northern Michigan University, Junior, Forward, Burnaby, British Columbia
Olver led the CCHA conference in points and was tied for first in goals while leading his Wildcats in scoring for the third straight year. Selected as a First Team CCHA all-star, he was also a finalist for Player of the Year. His play in February helped elevate the Wildcats from tenth to a fourth place league finish.
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Chase Polacek – Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, Junior, Forward, Edina, Minnesota
Polecek was tops in the ECAC this past season and was RPI’s leading scorer. He paced the conference in scoring and was named Player of the Year and a First Team all-star. He ranks third in the nation in both points (52) and goals (26).
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Rhett Rakhshani – University of Denver, Senior, Forward, Huntington Beach, California
The senior captain has led the Pioneers to the top of the national rankings and has done so in the highly competitive WCHA where Rakhshani led the conference in points, earning First Team all star honors in the process as DU finished in first place. His 49 points in 38 games is seventh best in the nation and he is especially dangerous on the power play.
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Cody Reichard – Miami University of Ohio, Sophomore, Goalie, Celina, Ohio
Miami’s dominance in the CCHA this season was due to the fact that no one could beat Reichard, who went 15-0-2 in conference play while leading virtually every goalie category, allowing only 21 goals in 17 games. Those efforts propelled him to number one in the nation in goals against average and third in save percentage. He had five shutouts this year and was named CCHA Player of the Year..
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Ben Scrivens – Cornell University, Senior, Goalie, Spruce Grove, Alberta
Scrivens is second in the nation in goals against average, second in the nation in save percentage, helping his team to second place in the ECAC standings with the second best team defense in the nation. Scrivens is also a candidate for ECAC Player of the Year.
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Brendan Smith – University of Wisconsin, Junior, Defenseman, Mimico, Ontario
The lone defenseman in the top ten happens to be 19th overall in the nation in scoring while topping all defensemen in college hockey. He helped lead the high-scoring Badgers to number two in the nation in offense and earned Smith First Team WCHA and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
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CCHA AWARDS ANNOUNCED DURING GALA EVENT HOSTED BY RBC FINANCIAL GROUP AT HISTORIC FOX THEATRE
During the CCHA Awards, Ferris State forward Aaron Lewicki was presented with the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award in recognition of his perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversity. Lewicki’s mother passed away during his time at Ferris State and he suffers from a congenital back condition. Despite these obstacles, Lewicki, a senior, has played a prominent role in the Bulldog’s third place finish in the CCHA standings this season.
Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard of the regular-season champion Miami RedHawks was named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Year at the annual CCHA Awards banquet on Thursday, March 18. Twelve individual awards were handed out at Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre, including six determined by a vote of the league’s 12 coaches.
Reichard finished the regular season as the CCHA leader in goals-against average (1.23), save percentage (.950), and shutouts (5). He also led the nation in overall GAA (1.48) and winning percentage (.841).
Miami’s Enrico Blasi was named the CCHA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his 11 seasons as the RedHawk mentor. Blasi led the RedHawks to the program’s third CCHA regular-season title with a 21-2-5-2 conference record, including a 23-game unbeaten streak in league play.
Alaska senior forward Dion Knelsen was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Knelsen, a business administration major, holds a 3.984 grade-point average and was named to the chancellor’s list all seven semesters at Alaska. The 21-year-old also finished tied for eighth in the CCHA in scoring with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points.
Knelsen also received the Mike and Marian Ilitch Humanitarian Award as the league’s top citizen, based on his contributions off the ice, as well as on, to his team, his program, his school and his community. He has volunteered his time to a multitude of causes, including “Nooks for Books” (a program where Nanook student-athletes read to children at local elementary schools), Sports Night at the Denali Center (an assisted living home for senior citizens in Fairbanks), and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Alaska forward Andy Taranto became the first Nanook to be honored as the Rookie of the Year. Taranto led all rookies in conference scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points. Taranto also finished the CCHA regular season ranked third in the nation in rookie scoring with a 16-23-39 line.
Other awards included Miami junior captain Tommy Wingels being named CCHA Best Defensive Forward. Wingels played a key role in Miami only allowing 39 goals in league play. Wingels also had a +12 rating in conference games.
Northern Michigan junior defenseman Erik Gustafsson was honored as the Best Offensive Defenseman for the second straight season. The Wildcat captain led CCHA defensemen in league scoring and finished second among all players in assists with 21.
Miami sophomore Will Weber was named Best Defensive Defenseman. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder has played a major role in Miami’s success this season.
(Wally Shaver contributed to this article)