ALBANY, N.Y. - Ryan Miller became the second Spartan and the second goaltender ever to win the Hobey Baker Award on Friday afternoon at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.
Miller, a sophomore, triumphed in a close race with North Dakota forward Jeff Panzer and Boston College forward Brian Gionta for college hockey’s most prestigious individual trophy.
“It’s a great honor, a great surprise,” Miller told the 1,000 fans in attendance. “Just to be a finalist would’ve been good enough for me. I don’t have the words in me right now to describe how I feel.”
Panzer and Gionta tied for second place in the voting. Their respective teams battle for the national championship at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at the Pepsi Arena, in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Panzer’s Fighting Sioux eliminated the top-ranked Spartans from the NCAA Tournament 2-0 in a Frozen Four semifinal matchup on Thursday, souring Miller’s accomplishment a little bit.
Although head coach Ron Mason had known of Miller’s Hobey victory since last Friday, he elected not to tell the goaltender or the other Spartans until after the North Dakota game.
“While it’s one of the biggest thrills of my life, it was a little bittersweet yesterday,” Miller said. “It was kind of like yeah, it’s great, but I don’t really get to share it with my team. I’m thinking of today as a totally separate occasion than yesterday.”
Despite Thursday’s loss, about 150 MSU fans stuck around for Friday’s ceremony.
But Miller’s teammates had already flown back to East Lansing on after the lose to North Dakota.
“Other teams can’t appreciate what my teammates do because they don’t play with them every day,” Miller said. “We’re a really, really close team and I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for them.”
After being announced as the winner, Miller was whisked to a myriad of interviews with local and national media and signed autographs for about 75 fans.
His cousin, Kip Miller, is the only other Spartan to win the award, doing so in 1990. He went on to a 10-year NHL career and now plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the International Hockey League.
“Kip Miller was the best offensive player in college hockey with 109 points,” Mason said. “And Ryan Miller is the best defensive player in college hockey this year.
“All of you know (Ryan’s) stats and you’ve heard all about him, but I have the pleasure to work with him every day. I see the inside things that make him great. He’s got a great competitive determination, kindness and he’s got a mental toughness. He makes everyone on the team better.”
Miller becomes the first goaltender to win the Hobey since 1988, when Robb Stauber of Minnesota reigned supreme.
Hockey Humanitarian Award
The CCHA swept the two major college hockey awards announced Friday, as Nebraska-Omaha center Jason Cupp took home the sixth annual Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Cupp also won the inaugural Mike and Marian Illitch Humanitarian Award at last month’s CCHA Awards.
James Jahnke can be reached at jahnkeja@msu.edu.
