Killorn, Biega Among 77 Nominees for Baker Award

Although the Harvard men’s hockey team hasn’t been able to find its rhythm in the young 2011-12 campaign, both senior forward Alex Killorn and junior defenseman Danny Biega certainly have. For their play, the two received nominations for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Given in honor of Hobey Baker, a World War I veteran and a talented amateur athlete at Princeton, the award is given annually to the best player in collegiate hockey, though other attributes, including exemplary character, integrity, sportsmanship, and academic achievement, are taken into consideration.

Killorn and Biega have a tough act to follow. In the past, the Crimson hockey program boasts three Hobey Baker award recipients: Mark Fusco ’83 in 1982-83, Scott Fusco ’85-86 in 1985-86, and Lane MacDonald ’88-89 in 1988-89. Harvard is only behind Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth in the overall number of award recipients.

Killorn, an assistant captain, also received a nomination for the award last season. Through 14 games, Killorn’s 18 points and nine goals are Harvard bests while his .64 goals per game and 1.29 points per game rank 13th and 16th nationally, respectively. Killorn was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Biega, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010, has 17 points, second in the nation for a defenseman. He leads the Crimson squad with 13 assists, eighth best in collegiate hockey.

At this stage, 77 hockey players have been nominated. 10 finalists will be named on March 15, with the field narrowed to three on March 29. The winner will receive the honor at the Frozen Four Championship on April 6.