Boston College senior defenseman Mike Mottau was named today as the 20th winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to college hockey’s most outstanding player.
A three-time All-American, Mottau has led the Eagles to three consecutive appearances in the Frozen Four and will be looking to cap that Saturday with BC’s first national championship since 1949. He becomes the first defenseman since Tom Kurvers in 1984 to win the honor.
Mottau topped two teammates, senior Jeff Farkas and junior Brian Gionta, as well as seven other finalists in the balloting.
The Hobey Baker Award caps a string of individual awards bestowed on Mottau in recent weeks. In addition to the All-America honors, he took league awards as Hockey East’s Co-Player of the Year, Best Defensive Defenseman and First Team All-Hockey East. He was also named the winner of the Walter Brown Award, given annually to New England’s outstanding American-born college hockey player.
A stellar defender, Mottau also quarterbacks one of the nation’s best power plays and is a mainstay on BC’s penalty-kill unit, which set a Hockey East record this year for efficiency. He enters the national championship game with 43 points on the season and a 27-120–157 scoring line for his career.
Since 1981, the Decathlon Hotel & Athletic Club in Bloomington, Minn., has presented the Hobey Baker Award. This year marked the first time that a fan component was added to the selection process, as the 20-member committee included representation based on USCHO’s Vote for Hobey, won by Laing with Reinprecht the runner-up.
Mottau becomes the second Boston College player to win, preceded by David Emma (1991), and only the third defenseman, following Mark Fusco (1983) and Kurvers (1984). He is to be honored at a banquet on Friday, April 14, in Bloomington.
