Bliss, Halonen and Pietila candidates for Hobey Baker Award
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Trenton Bliss, Brian Halonen, and Blake Pietila from the Michigan Tech hockey team are candidates for the 2022 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey's top player. The Hobey Baker's tremendously popular fan-voting will run from now until Sunday, March 6 at hobeybaker.com/vote
Follow the prompts to make your selection from this year's outstanding crop of 77 college hockey players representing 42 NCAA Division I schools. Please spend some additional time to check out the detailed bios by following the links on each candidate at hobeybaker.com/2022-nominees/.
Bliss is a senior from Appleton, Wisconsin, and is a candidate for the third year in a row. The co-captain is second on the Huskies with 15 points on six goals and nine assists. He has three games this season with three points and scored the game-winning goal against Lake Superior State (Nov. 6).
Halonen leads the Huskies with 23 points and 12 goals to rank sixth in the CCHA in goals and ninth in points. The senior from Delano, Minnesota tallied 20 points in the first 14 games. He scored game-winning goals at Clarkson (Oct. 29) and against St. Thomas (Dec. 11). Halonen has six multi-point games, including a goal and three assists against Ferris State (Nov. 26). He also leads the Huskies in shots on goal (63) and plus/minus (+14).
Pietila is a junior from Howell, Michigan and is a Hobey Baker candidate for the second straight season. He has started all 19 games and ranks second in the CCHA in goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.916). Pietila is 10-8-1 with shutouts at Clarkson (Oct. 29), against Lake Superior State (Nov. 6), and at Michigan (Dec. 29). He ranks seventh nationally in shutouts, 10th in goals-against average, and 11th in wins.
Phase two of fan balloting will come from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists beginning March 17 and closing March 27. The fans' vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.
Award criteria include candidates exhibiting the exceptional character traits of the award's namesake, Hobey Baker. A legendary American hero, Baker was a World War I fighter pilot and was known as America's greatest amateur athlete in his day, excelling at hockey and football at Princeton University. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
Key Hobey Baker announcement dates for 2022 include:
- Top Ten list of finalists: March 16
- Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists: March 31
- Hobey Baker Award announcement: April 8
The 2022 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 8, 2022 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Boston. The award ceremony will be broadcast nationally on NHL Network and streamed live at hobeybaker.com. For more info on the Hobey Baker Award please visit www.hobeybaker.com.