UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The No. 6 Penn State men’s ice hockey team announced on Monday (Jan. 30) that freshman classmates Peyton Jones and Denis Smirnov, along with sophomore Andrew Sturtz, have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
The award is given annually to the top college hockey player in the nation. The trio join Casey Bailey, Taylor Holstrom and Luke Juha, who were each nominated once for the prestigious award during their time in Happy Valley.
Phase one of fan voting for the award begins Jan. 30 and will run through March 5. Each person is able to cast one vote per day, per device until voting closes. Vote now at www.hobeybaker.com/vote.
On March 15 the list will be narrowed down to the top 10 Hobey Baker finalists, and phase two of fan balloting will begin the following day and close March 26. The fans’ vote accounts for a full 1 percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient.
The Hobey Hat Trick will then be announced on March 30, and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented to the winner on April 7 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championships in Chicago.
Sturtz potted a pair of goals this past weekend against Princeton to raise his team-best season total to 17, which also ties him for the Big Ten lead and places him fourth in the nation. The sophomore is just one goal shy of his mark of 18 during his rookie campaign last season. His 35 career goals place him one back of teammate David Goodwin for third on Penn State’s all-time goal list and just 10 shy of Casey Bailey’s program record of 45 goals.
Jones has already set a new single-season record for wins by a Penn State goaltender with 14 while turning in a .905 save percentage and a 2.45 goals against average in 20 games so far this season. The rookie went unbeaten over his first 13 games, compiling an 11-0-1 record during his first semester in Hockey Valley.
Smirnov has also already set a new single-season freshman points and assist record at Penn State with 29 and 18, respectively. The rookie is tied for 18th in the nation in points but second among freshman, while his 11 tallies tie for the freshman lead. Smirnov leads all Big Ten rookies in goals, assists and points.
Penn State is back in action this weekend, traveling to No. 7 Minnesota for a pair of games at Mariucci Arena. The Nittany Lions next play at home Feb. 17-18 against those same Golden Gophers.
For more information about the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and to see past winners, visit www.hobeybaker.com.