March 16, 2017
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Hobey Baker Memorial Award Announces Top Ten Finalists |
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For Release 11:00 a.m. CT (noon ET) March 15, 2017 Saint Paul, Minn. Contact: Wally Shaver 612-751-5111 wshaver@hobeybaker.com The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I college hockey head coaches and by online fan balloting. Next, the 27-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website at www.hobeybaker.com from March 16-26 will determine this year’s Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements. The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 30, 2017 and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday, April 7, 2017 from Chicago, IL during the NCAA Frozen Four. The award announcement will take place at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. The announcement will be televised live on the NHL Network and can be followed on the Hobey Baker website at 6:00 p.m. ET. Following, in alphabetical order, is a look at each finalist. Zach Aston-Reese – Northeastern University – Senior, Forward, Staten Island, New York A breakout campaign has vaulted Aston-Reese to the top of the nation’s scoring charts. His 63 points is tied for first, while his 31 goals are unmatched. A consistent scorer all season, assistant captain Aston-Reese has been outstanding on special teams leading the nation with 4 short-handed goals and has added 13 power play goals.
Michael Bitzer – Bemidji State University – Junior, Goalie, Moorhead, Minnesota The workhorse goalie for the Beavers has played more minutes than any other tender in the country. Along the way he established a WCHA record with a 1.40 goals against average during conference games. Besides being the league goalie champion, Bitzer was named WCHA Player of the Year and First Team all-conference. His 1.71 overall goals against average leads the nation as do his six shutouts.
Anders Bjork – University of Notre Dame – Junior, Forward, Mequon, Wisconsin Notre Dame’s assistant captain has paced the Fighting Irish scoring charts all season with 47 points in 35 games. A solid two-way player, Bjork scores goals at key times and has five game winners so far this season. Bjork is one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for his endless hours of volunteer time at a local elementary school where he is known as “Mr. B.”
Will Butcher – University of Denver – Senior, Defense, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin The lone defenseman in the top ten, Butcher has proved to be a 200 foot player. He is ranked tied for second in the nation in points by a defenseman (35) and tied for seventh in the nation in plus/minus at +23. Butcher has been named First Team NCHC for the second straight year and is a finalist for the NCHC Player of the Year award and Offensive Defenseman of the Year honors.
Spencer Foo – Union College – Junior, Forward, Edmonton, Alberta Foo has proved to be one of the most consistent players in the nation, picking up points in all but four of his 36 games to date. He established a school record with a 21-game point streak earlier in the season and will carry a seven game streak into the ECAC championship tournament. Also highly impressive is his plus/minus of +31, the best in the nation.
Tyler Kelleher – University of New Hampshire – Senior, Forward, Longmeadow, Massachusetts Despite the Wildcats season being over, their sparkplug Tyler Kelleher moved into a tie for the national scoring lead with 63 points in 40 games. An exceptional playmaker, he produced 35 assists to lead the nation. He earned the Hockey East scoring title averaging almost 1.7 points per game and had a total of 18 multiple point games to his credit.
Alexander Kerfoot – Harvard University – Senior, Forward, West Vancouver, British Columbia Harvard has posted a Hobey finalist for the third straight year in co-captain Alex Kerfoot. He has helped guide the Crimson to a tie for first in the ECAC standings and a number three national ranking, due to a current 14-game unbeaten streak. A gifted playmaker, Kerfoot has produced points in nine of his last ten games, including goals in eight of them.
Tyler Sheehy – University of Minnesota – Sophomore, Forward, Burnsville, Minnesota The lone sophomore in this year’s class is having a terrific season. He currently ranks seventh in the nation in scoring heading into the Big Ten tournament. Sheehy took home multiple conference awards including: Player of the Year, First Team Big Ten and conference co-scoring champion. Sheehy’s efforts on the Gophers top line helped Minnesota to their national record sixth straight regular season championship.
Mike Vecchione – Union College – Senior, Forward, Saugus, Massachusetts The team captain has had a huge season and is now the program’s all-time career scoring leader while becoming the active career scoring leader in the nation (175 points). Vecchione (VECK-ee-oh-nee) is a finalist for ECAC Player of the Year and Best Defensive Forward. Entering the ECAC playoff tourney, he is third in the nation in points, second in goals and leads the nation with 21 multiple point games, leads the nation with seven game winning goals and tied for first with four short-handed tallies.
Charles Williams – Canisius College – Senior, Goalie, Canton, Michigan As the Golden Griffins soared to the Atlantic Hockey regular season title, they did it on the back of Williams who led the circuit in goals against average and save percentage. He was named to the AHC First Team and presently leads the nation in save percentage at .946. He’s second in goals against average and is tied for first with six shutouts.
Hobey Notes
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