Penn State men’s hockey forwards Andrew Sturtz and Denis Smirnov are the Nittany Lions’ nominees for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award for the second consecutive season. Finalists for the award will be announced in March after the fan vote.

Andrew Sturtz has certainly made a strong Hobey Baker case for himself this season, as the Buffalo native is tied for fifth in the NCAA with 30 points in 23 games played. He is tied for the team lead in goals (11) with center Nate Sucese and has added an element of playmaking into his game this season with a team-leading 19 assists. Sturtz is also a leader on the team beyond the stats; his rough-and-tumble style of play has turned ‘Hockey Valley’ into ‘Andy Valley’ during his two-plus seasons as a Nittany Lion.

Meanwhile, Denis Smirnov has followed up his spectacular freshman season with an equally strong sophomore campaign. The Russian sharpshooter missed some time due to illness early in the season, but when he’s been on the ice, Smirnov has produced plenty of offense for Guy Gadowsky’s squad. Smirnov is second on the team with ten goals and has added nine assists in 16 games played throughout the year. The Colorado Avalanche prospect has scored 1.18 points per game, a number that only Andrew Sturtz has eclipsed this year.

You can vote for Sturtz and Smirnov on the Hobey Baker Award’s official website and watch them play this weekend when Penn State takes on Michigan at Yost Ice Arena. Friday’s game will begin at 8 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.