Forwards Matthew Knies and Logan Cooley of the top-ranked Gophers men's hockey team are two of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in college hockey.
Gophers' Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley among 10 finalists for Hobey Baker
The Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists will be announced March 30, and the award winner will be named April 7 during Frozen Four weekend in Tampa, Fla.
March 15, 2023 at 10:15PM
Knies, a sophomore who is the Big Ten Player of the Year, and Cooley, the conference scoring co-leader as a freshman, have helped the Gophers produce a 26-8-1 record and reach Saturday's Big Ten tournament championship game against Michigan.
Knies, of Phoenix, ranks sixth nationally with 21 goals, including a nation's-best seven game-winners, and has 40 points. Cooley, of Pittsburgh, ranks fourth nationally with 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists) and has five game-winning goals.
The other top-10 finalists are:
- Michigan freshman forward Adam Fantilli, who leads the nation with 60 points (27-33-60).
- Harvard junior forward Sean Farrell, who ranks third nationally in scoring (20-31-51).
- Quinnipiac sophomore forward Collin Graf, who's second in the nation in scoring (20-34-54).
- Boston University junior defenseman Lane Hudson, who leads all blue-liners with 44 points.
- Northeastern junior goalie Devin Levi, who has a nation's-best .933 save percentage.
- Quinnipiac sophomore goalie Yaniv Perets, who leads the nation with a 1.52 goals-against average.
- Michigan Tech senior goalie Blake Pietila, who has 10 shutouts.
- Western Michigan senior forward Jason Polin, whose 29 goals lead the nation.
The finalists were selected by voting from all 61 Division I head coaches plus online fan balloting. Next, the 30-member selection committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website hobeybaker.com from Friday through March 26 will determine the award winner.
The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 30, and the award winner at 5 p.m. April 7 (NHL Network) during NCAA Frozen Four weekend in Tampa, Fla.
Amisha Ramlall burst on to the recruiting scene last season as a freshman and colleges, including the Gophers, quickly took notice.
