Three Canisius hockey players have been named candidates for the 2020 Hobey Baker Award, foundation officials announced on Thursday.
Seniors Matt Hoover, Nick Hutchison and Matt Stief are three of 79 players representing 45 NCAA Division I schools to be nominated for phase one of the award process.
The Hobey Baker Award is awarded annually to top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation. In addition to their performance on the ice, candidates must exhibit strength and character on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of the team, display outstanding skills in all phases of the game and show scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
A native of Brantford, Ontario, Hoover leads Canisius in scoring with 19 points (7g, 12a) in 20 games played. Heading into the weekend riding a point-scoring streak that stands at a career-best seven games, Hoover finds himself part of a three-way tie for fifth in the league’s scoring race with 17 points and sits ninth in the league in assists with 10. The forward also finds him ranked among the league leaders in both power-play goals (5/T-2nd) and points (11/3rd).
Hutchison leads the Griffs with 11 goals and is third on the team’s scoring chart with 17 points in just 15 games played in 2019-20. The Hicksville, N.Y., product is tied for eighth in Atlantic Hockey in scoring with 16 points and sits fifth among all league players with 10 goals versus conference competition. Hutchison ranks favorably among active Division I players for career goals, as his 53 tallies are fifth most, while his 24 power-play tallies have him second only to Minnesota State’s Marc Michaelis (29) in that category.
Stief is enjoying career year in his final season in Blue and Gold as he paces Canisius with 16 assists and is second on the squad with 18 points, surpassing his previous career high of 14 set a season ago. The Weston, Fla., native has done most of his damage while the Griffs have been on the power play, as 15 of his 18 points have come while Canisius has had the man advantage, third-most among Division I players this season. Stief ranks second in Atlantic Hockey in assists (15) and is tied for eighth in league scoring with 16 points.
The first phase of fan balloting runs now through March 8. Fans can cast their vote daily by going to the Hobey Baker website at
http://www.hobeybaker.com/vote.
Following the conclusion of Phase I, the list of players will be narrowed to a Top-10 and that announcement will be made on March xx, 2020. Phase II voting on the Top-10 will take place from March 19-29. The fans’ vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient.
The Hobey Hat Trick will then be announced on April 2 and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented to the winner on April 10, 2020 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Detroit, Mich.
