Amidst the Frozen Four, the Hobey Baker Award ceremony was held to award the best college hockey player in the country.
This year’s hattrick nominees were sophomore forward Ryan Leonard of Boston College, who led all college hockey in goals with 30, including 9 game winners, and Junior forward Isaac Howard from Michigan State, who led the Spartans to their first regional tournament appearance since 2012. The third nominee was Denver sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium, who led all defensemen in points and assists by a D-man this season.
The award was given to Michigan State Spartan’s Isaac Howard. He finished the season with 52 points in 37 games and was 5th in points this season. The 2022 Tampa Bay Lighting 1st round pick had 14 multi-point games and was 3rd in scoring with 26 goals to give him the award.
“I think it could’ve went any way. Leonard and Zeev are both incredible players and had an unreal season. Obviously, it’s super exciting, and it’s such an incredible honor,” Howard said on winning his award.
This is the first time since 2001 that Michigan State won a Hobey Baker when netminder Ryan Miller won the award. The first MSU Hobey Baker winner was Kip Miller in 1990. Howard became the third Spartan to win the award.
“You look at how many great players have played here at Michigan State and how many great teams we’ve had. This is a hard award to win, and this is our third time winning it,” said Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale on what it means for the Spartans program. “You gotta have a good team around you and have a great season; you have to be healthy, but for our programs and alum. I was joking with Howard that we need to build a bigger trophy case, and that’s a good problem to have.”
That wasn’t the only award given out during the evening as there were five other awards, including the Mike Richter Award given to the top goaltender of the season. The four nominees were: University of Maine Black Bears Albin Boija, who posted a 1.82 goals against average and a .928 save percentage to lead the Black Bears to their Hockey East Championship.
The Spartans saw more of their own nominated as MSU netminder Trey Augustine was another nominee, with a 2.08 GAA and a .924 save percentage to put the Spartans as one of the best teams throughout the season.
The third nominee was Boston College Eagles’ Jacob Fowler, who was considered the best goalie in the league this season, posting a 1.63 GAA and a jaw-dropping .940 save percentage for the Eagles.
The final nominee for the award was Minnesota State Mavericks junior Alex Tracy, who played rock solid all season with a 1.42 GAA and an impressive .946 save percentage to lead the Mavericks to their third CCHA championship.
The winner of the 2025 Mike Richter Award for the league’s best goaltender was Boston College Eagles’ Jacob Fowler for his stellar performance all season in what was a stacked Hockey East conference.
Another award given out was the Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Award, named after the late Yale University coach. The winner of the award was given to Boston University Terriers freshman defenseman Cole Huston. Unlike the first two awards, there were no other nominees.
The 2024 second-round pick by the Washington Capitals was second in scoring for the Terriers with 48 points and led the team in assists with 34.
The next award, the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, was given to the University of Michigan’s graduate defenseman Jacob Truscott. The award is named in honor of a former Army hockey player who gave his life for his country in Afghanistan.
The final award of the night was the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is given to the player that most personifies true community spirit through the selfless commitment of leadership, effort and time.
The five nominees for the award were Boston College senior Keri Clougherty, Bemidji State senior Kendra Fortin, Cornell senior Hank Kempf, Merrimack College graduate Ralce Szott and St. Lawrence graduate Sarah Thompson.
The winner of the award was given to St. Lawrence grad forward Sarah Thomspon, who was also a three-time finalist for this award.
Thompson launched ‘Sticks Together’ three years ago to provide children in disadvantaged areas with opportunities to learn and grow through the sport of hockey. She has led trips for other NCAA and U Sports (Canada universities) student-athletes to Argentina (2022), South Africa (2023) and the Philippines (2024).
Another individual honored during the night was New Hampshire Wildcats coach Dick Umile, who was awarded the 2025 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award for his achievements at UNH.
The former head coach for New Hampshire, he coached for 28 seasons (1990-2018) and accumulated 596 career wins to rank tenth all-time in career Division I victories. He’s one of eight coaches to claim 500 wins at one school and was named coach of the year 11 times throughout his career.
