5 Early Frontrunners for the 2027 Hobey Baker Award: Puck Drop

Let’s face it, history was against him. That’s not to say that Max Plante still can’t win the Hobey Baker award as college hockey’s most outstanding player again, but there’s never been a repeat winner, and the last player to even come back to college hockey was North Dakota forward Ryan Duncan in 2007 and 2008.

Plante, just the sixth player in the award’s history to return, hasn’t played in a month either, he’s been out since suffering an upper-body injury (reportedly to a shoulder) since Minnesota-Duluth’s season-opening series against Long Island University on October 2–3.

His stat line has been fixed at two assists and five shots. That’s a far cry away from last year’s 25 goals (tied for first in the NCAA) and 52 points (tied for third), but what really set him apart were his six game-winning goals, often in dramatic fashion, which led the nation. The eight power-play goals were third as well.

Adding to the team captain’s frustration is that his two brothers are on the Bulldogs as well. Like Max, Zam is also a junior, while Victor is a freshman. He’s back practicing and reportedly close to a return, yet will miss another series this weekend’s series at St. Cloud State.

So who are some of the early frontrunners?

Ty Hanson, defenseman, Minnesota Duluth: He’s been one of the keys to UMD staying in in the top 10 of the national rankings. The junior’s 17 points are third in college hockey, and his 10 goals are tied for the national lead. He grew up in the Duluth area and always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder.

Jayden Perron, right wing, Michigan: The nine goals and 10 assists have him second in national scoring with 19 points. His shooting percentage of 28.6 is really high, like too high. It was 17.1 percent in 2025-26, when the nation’s scoring leader finished at 23.6 percent.

Michael Hage, center, Michigan: He had the same points total at Max Plante last season with 52 points on 13 goals, and his 39 assists edged Gavin McKenna (36) for the national lead. In nine games he has four points and 16 assists (no one else has more than 11), to top everyone with 20 points and 2.22 points per game average.

Daxon Rudolph, defenseman, Denver: His numbers don’t quite show it yet, as the freshman has six goals and six assists in 10 games, but the No. 4-overall pick in the NHL Draft is looking worthy of the selection. He stole the show at Arizona State with three goals while leading a sweep. “He’s having a world class start to the season,” Pioneers coach David Carle told the Denver Gazette.

Jackson Unger, goaltender, Colorado College: He’s been in net for every minute so far and has a 1.49 goals against average, and .948 save percentage. However, this weekend will be his biggest test yet, at Western Michigan.

Five others to keep an eye on:

Dartmouth forward Dave Stewart: The freshman has eight points in four games.

Quinnipiac forward Ethan Wyttenbach: Led the nation in scoring last season as a freshman. Has five goals and nine assists in nine games.

Western Michigan forward Adam Benak: The Czech freshman has five goals and 10 assists in nine games, but has been suspended for a game this weekend for slashing UND’s Cody Croal.

Boston University forward Tynan Lawrence: He arrived last January as one of the youngest players in college hockey and now looks comfortable with Terriers. He has nine goals and five assists.

Michigan Tech goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz: In 10 games the senior has a 1.78 GAA, and .941 save percentage. However, he’s 6-2-2. Last season he started 38 of 39 games after transferring from Lindenwood and finished 23-12-3 with a 2.52 GAA and .913 save percentage.

College Hockey One-Timer: No. 4 Michigan State at Notre Dame

Sammy Nelson's goal 21 seconds into overtime was his second of the night as Notre Dame shocked visiting No. 4 Michigan State, 3-2. If that wasn’t good enough, both times he scored during his first multi-goal game as a collegiate player it was assisted by one of his two older brothers on the team, Danny (who leads the Fighting Irish with 12 points on five goals and seven assists). Freshman goaltender Patrick Quinlan made 33 saves to get the win.

😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

The OT winner off the stick of @_sammynelson! #GoIrish | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/PX1kz222xx
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) November 13, 2026

Puck Drop: Friday, November 13, 2026

The U.S. Collegiate Selects that will play in the 2026 Spengler Cup next month in Switzerland is close to finalizing its roster after adding four more players: New Hampshire senior forward Martins Lavinš, Quinnipiac junior forward Chris Pelosi, Minnesota Duluth junior forward Jayson Shaugabay, and Western Michigan junior defenseman Joona Väisänen. Lavinš and Pelosi were on last year’s team that reached the championship game against pro competition.

Matt Boldy (Boston College) had a hat trick as the Minnesota Wild extended its point streak to 10 games with a 5-2 victory at Toronto. It was his second hat trick this season and sixth of his NHL career. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs fell to 0-5 during their homestand from hell, making it their worst home regulation losing streak since the 1990-91 season.

The game between Bentley and Air Force was the first between Benley assistant coach Gudge Bentley and his younger brother Duke Gentzler, a freshman forward for Air Force. The Falcons came back from a three-goal deficit with junior forward Nick Sajevic scoring in overtime for the 4-3 victory.

𝗦𝗔𝗝𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗣 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 🚨#FlyFightWin pic.twitter.com/2FV5VKeZhE
— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) November 13, 2026

College Hockey Scores

MEN
AHA
Air Force 4, Bentley 3 (OT)

Big Ten
Notre Dame 3, No. 4 Michigan State 2

WOMEN
AHA
Robert Morris 3, Delaware 2

Hockey East
Vermont 5, New Hampshire 2

Today’s College Hockey Schedule

MEN
AHA
Holy Cross at Niagara, 7 p.m. ET
Sacred Heart at No. 18 Army, 7 p.m. ET
Bentley at Air Force, 7p.m. MT

Big Ten
Penn State at No. 2 Michigan, 7 p.m. ET
No. 4 Michigan State at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ET
Ohio State at No. 1Wisconsin, 7 p.m. CT

CCHA
Lake Superior at No. 14 Michigan Tech, 7 p.m. ET
Bowling Green at Northern Michigan, 7 p.m. ET
Ferris State at No. 9 Augustana, 7 p.m. CT
Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 7 p.m. CT

ECAC
No. 16 Cornell at Brown, 7 p.m. ET
Harvard at Princeton, 7 p.m. ET
No. 11 Dartmouth at No. 5 Quinnipiac, 7 p.m. ET
Colgate at Yale, 7 p.m. ET

Hockey East
No. 19 Northeastern at Connecticut, 7 p.m. ET
Boston College at Massachusetts, 7 p.m. ET
No. 15 Merrimack at No, 10 Providence, 7 p.m. ET
Maine at No. 20 Vermont, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC
No. 7 Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m. CT
No. 12 Colorado College at No. 6 Western Michigan, 7 p.m. ET
No. 8 North Dakota at St. Thomas, 7 p.m. CT
Omaha at No. 17 Miami, 7 p.m. ET

Non-Conference
Lindenwood at No. 3 Denver, 7 p.m. MT
Alaska-Anchorage at Minnesota, 7 p.m. CT
RPI at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. ET
Union at UMass Lowell, 7:15 p.m. ET

WOMEN
AHA
Robert Morris at Delaware, 2 p.m. ET
No. 7 Penn State at Mercyhurst, 6 p.m. ET
Lindenwood at RIT, 6 p.m. ET

ECAC
No. 13 Yale at No. 10 Clarkson, 6 p.m. ET
Dartmouth at No. 8 Colgate, 6 p.m. ET
Harvard at No. 14 Cornell, 6 p.m. ET
Brown at St. Lawrence, 6 p.m. ET

Hockey East
Boston University at No. 15 Boston College,
Providence at No. 11 Connecticut, 2 p.m. ET
Vermont at New Hampshire, 2 p.m. ET
No. 5 Northeastern at Merrimack, 3 p.m. ET
Holy Cross at Maine, 5 p.m. ET

NEWHA
Long Island at Stonehill, 5 p.m. ET
Saint Anselm at Sacred Heart, 6 p.m. ET
Assumption at Franklin Pierce, 7 p.m. ET
Saint Michael's at Post, 7:15 p.m. ET

WCHA
Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 3 p.m. CT
No. 9 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Minnesota, 6 p.m. CT
No. 11 Minnesota Duluth at No. 1 Ohio State, 6 p.m. ET

Non-Conference
Syracuse at Rensselaer, 3 p.m. ET

This Date in Hockey History

November 13, 1910: Goaltender Mike Karakas, one of the charter members of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, was born in Aurora, Minn.

November 13, 1934: Ralph “Scotty” Bowman of the St. Louis Eagles scored the first goal off a penalty shot in NHL history. The Montreal Maroons still won 2-1.

November 13, 1962: Providence center Gates Orlando was born in Montreal.

November 13, 1972: Merrimack defenseman Mark Cornforth was born in Montreal.

November 13, 1975: Former North Dakota left wing John Marks scored twice in the first 33 seconds against Philadelphia to set an NHL record for two fastest goals off the start of a game. Chicago only managed a 5-5 tie.

November 13, 1979: Hall of Fame left wing Moose Goheen, who went to Valparaiso and played for the U.S. in the 1924 Olympics, died in Maplewood, Minn. He was 85.

November 13, 1982: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Tony Esposito made 34 saves during Chicago’s 3-2 victory over Detroit to become the fourth player in NHL history to win 400 games.

November 13, 1984: UMD defenseman Jason Garrison was born in White Rock, British Columbia.

November 13, 1986; Former Yale center Bob Brooke, who also represented the U.S. in numerous international competitions, was traded by the New York Rangers to the Minnesota North Stars for Curt Giles and Tony McKegney.

November 13, 1986: Former UMD right wing Brett Hull scored his first NHL goal as the Calgary Flames defeated the Hartford Whalers 4-3. He went on to score 740 more, fourth-most in league history. The win was No. 157 for “Badger” Bob Johnson, making him winningest head coach in Flames history.

November 13, 1992: American goaltender Pat Jablonski earned the first shutout in Tampa Bay Lightning history, 1-0 over the Ottawa Senators. It was his lone NHL shutout.

November 13, 1993: Former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter notched his first career NHL shutout as the New York Rangers defeated Washington 2-0.

November 13, 1994: Bowling Green defenseman Sean Walker was born in Keswick, Ontario.

November 13, 1997: The NHL’s expansion franchise in Nashville announced the team would be called the Predators. They began play during the 1998-99 season.

November 13, 2006: The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Patrick Roy, Dick Duff, Herb Brooks and Harley Hotchkiss.

November 13, 2008: Former Minnesota defenseman Alex Goligoski participated in his first NHL shootout and the rookie scored in the sixth round to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 victory over visiting Philadelphia.

November 13, 2009: Former Minnesota forward Kyle Okposo scored with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime for a 4-3 victory for the New York Islands as the Carolina Panthers took their 14th straight loss.

November 13, 2010: A pair of former Minnesota standouts keyed Buffalo’s 3-2 home win against Washington. Left wing Thomas Vanek had two goals and the game-winner in overtime and defenseman Justin Leopold had three assists.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“My dad owns a hockey rink and he was sharpening my first pair of skates while I was still in the womb.”
Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College)

We'll Leave You With This ...

Our girl squad is growing 💗💗

We couldn’t be happier for Mazz and her family!!#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/1bdjYTABFc
— Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey (@QU_WIH) November 12, 2026

— The views expressed in Christopher Walsh’s opinion part of Puck Drop are his own and do not necessarily reflect ON SI, Sports Illustrated or digital partner Minute.

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