After leading his team to back-to-back National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season titles and last night’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff Tournament championship, UND sophomore forward has been named a Hobey Baker Award finalist. Pinto was the unanimous selection as the league’s Player of the Year and was also picked the forward and defensive forward of the year by the conference’s head coaches and select media members.
North Dakota has a Hobey Baker finalist for a second consecutive year after Jordan Kawaguchi was in the Hobey Baker Hat Trick last season. Overall, UND leads college hockey with 26 Hobey Baker finalists in its program’s history.
Pinto was the first unanimous player of the year selection in NCHC history. The Franklin Square, N.Y., product won the league’s scoring title with 28 points and 15 goals in the regular season. He also paced the conference in power play goals (7), faceoff win percentage (.620), multi-point games (11) and multi-goal games.
The second-round Ottawa Senators draft pick in a kinesiology major and was the NCHC Rookie of the Year last year after tying for the team lead in goals with 16. Pinto currently has 30 points with 15 goals and 15 assists in 26 games.
The 2020-21 Hobey Baker Finalists:
Matt Boldy, Boston College; Cole Caufield, University of Wisconsin; David Farrance, Boston University; Dylan Holloway, University of Wisconsin; Spencer Knight, Boston College; Jack LaFontaine, University of Minnesota; Dryden McKay, Minnesota State University; Keith Petruzzelli, Quinnipiac University; Shane Pinto, University of North Dakota; and Odeen Tufto, Quinnipiac University.
(UND Athletics)
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