Jan. 15, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the second consecutive season junior Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) and sophomore Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as announced earlier Monday morning.
The award is given annually to the top college hockey player in the nation during a presentation at the Frozen Four.
College hockey fans around the world have their chance to voice their opinions as the Phase I fan voting period is open now through March 5, 2018. Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorites daily! VOTE HERE!
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 14, 2018. Phase II voting on the Top-10 will take place from March 14 - March 25.
The Hobey Hat Trick will then be announced on March 29 and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented to the winner on April 6, 2018 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championships in St. Paul, Minn.
Sturtz is currently on pace for his best season in Hockey Valley as he is tied for fifth nationally with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) to rank third in the Big Ten. Earlier this season he became the all-time leader at Penn State for goals and his 51 career tallies rank him tied for third in the nation among active players. Sturtz's 94 career points are also the second most in Penn State history and rank tied for 19th in the nation for active players and tied for fifth among juniors.
Smirnov is having another sensational season even battling an illness earlier in the year he has managed to average over a point per game with 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in just 16 games played. Last season Smirnov shattered the Penn State record books while leading all freshman across the nation with 47 points.
The sophomore's 10 goals rank second on the team and eighth in the Big Ten. With 66 career points, Smirnov is second nationally among sophomores and ranks in the top-100 for all current players in career scoring.
Sturtz and Smirnov are part of 67 initial nominees of which 15 are players from Big Ten institutions.
The 12th-ranked Nittany Lions return to action this weekend as they hit the road to battle No. 20 Michigan on Friday and Saturday evening.