University of Minnesota Athletics
Reilly Named Hobey Baker Award Finalist
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
#VoteMike - Vote Mike Reilly for Hobey Baker Award
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) - Gopher Hockey junior defenseman Mike Reilly has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Hobey Baker Award after helping Minnesota to its second-straight Big Ten regular-season championship and the top seed at this weekend's Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at Joe Louis Arena.
"This is a terrific honor for Mike and a testament to his hard work and dedication," Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. "Mike has developed into an elite hockey player, and he is a great representative for the University of Minnesota. As a student-athlete, he works just as hard off the ice as he does on it, and he certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the best college hockey players in the nation this year."
The Chanhassen, Minn., native earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten honors for the second-straight season earlier this week and has been one of the most dominant players in the nation this year. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect leads all NCAA defensemen this season with 42 points while his 36 assists rank tied for second among all NCAA skaters. A First Team All-American last season, Reilly currently leads the Big Ten and is tied for ninth in the nation with a plus-23 rating.
"I want to thank the coaches and fans that voted this year and included me as a finalist among a great field of candidates, and I would also like to thank everyone who has supported me and the team throughout the season," Reilly said. "This is a real honor, and I certainly appreciate it."
With 42 points in 36 games this season, Reilly is the first Gophers defenseman to lead the team in scoring since Mike Crowley tallied 56 points in 1996-97, earning First Team All-America honors and finishing the season as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Reilly, who was named a First Team All-American last season, is also an instrumental asset to Minnesota's top-ranked power-play unit, which is converting at a .284 clip (38-for-134) this year. The defenseman leads all NCAA players with 19 assists on the power-play while his 21 power-play points this season rank tied for second in the nation.
The University of Minnesota boasts four former Hobey Baker Award winners in program history with Neal Broten winning the inaugural award in 1981 followed by Robb Stauber in 1988 as the first goalie to win the honor. The pair was joined by Brian Bonin in 1996 and Jordan Leopold in 2002. The finalist honor for Reilly marks the 19th accolade in Minnesota history and the second-straight finalist for the Maroon & Gold (Adam Wilcox, 2014).
The 10 Hobey Baker Award finalists were selected based on voting from all 59 Division I college hockey head coaches and by online fan voting. Next, the 27-member selection committee and an additional round of fan voting (www.hobeybakeraward.com from March 19-29) will determine this year's Hobey Baker Award 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 Thursday, April 2 at 11 a.m. CT, and the 2015 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 10 from Matthews Arena in Boston during the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four.
Minnesota enters the 2015 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as the top-seed and will play the winner of four-seed Penn State and five-seed Ohio State on Friday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT. Joe Louis Arena in Detroit hosts this year's conference competition with the championship game set for Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. All five games this weekend will be televised on the Big Ten Network (streamed on BTN2Go) while all Gopher games will feature radio broadcasts on 1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network.
