April 11, 2008
NCAA Frozen Four
Michigan's Porter Wins Hobey Baker Award

By Mike Eidelbes

Michigan forward Kevin Porter is the second Wolverine player to win the Hobey Baker Award.

DENVER – The similarities between 1997 and 2008 are eerie.

Back in '97, Michigan was the prohibitive favorite to win a second straight national championship, but the Wolverines were upset by Boston University in the Frozen Four semifinal. The maize-and-blue faithful earned a measure of solace the following day, however, when standout forward Brendan Morrison was named the school's first Hobey Baker Award winner.

Friday, one day after Michigan, the top seed in this year's NCAA tournament, was stunned by Notre Dame in the Frozen Four semifinal, Wolverine senior forward Kevin Porter was honored as the winner of the 2008 Hobey Baker Award.

The senior from Northville, Mich., led Michigan to the CCHA regular-season and playoff titles this season, earning league player of the year honors with 33 goals and 30 assists.

"Even though we didn’t win a national championship I thought we still had a successful season," said Porter, who finished his Michigan career with 183 points in 162 games. "We accomplished a lot of our goals and made it to the Frozen Four with 11 freshman, so we accomplished a lot. And personally I thought I had a decent season. Definitely thought I could’ve done things better, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Porter, along with fellow senior Chad Kolarik and freshman Max Pacioretty, formed the most-feared offensive line in the nation this year. The trio combined for 158 points and led Michigan on an amazing run during the first half of the season. After splitting at the season-opening Ice Breaker tournament in St. Paul, the Wolverines peeled off wins in 21 of its next 22 games. Porter sparked the torrid start with 31 points in the team's first 19 games.

While he's disappointed with the end to his senior season, Porter says he'll look back on his four years at Michigan with a great deal of pride.

"It’s the greatest place to play college hockey," he said. "It has so much history and to play at Yost and play for Red Berenson is priceless. I’m going to look back on it in 10 or 20 years as a dream come true."