ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior Alec McCrea has been named one of three finalists for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman of the Year Award, the league announced Tuesday night.
 
McCrea has once again been a key cog in a defense corps that enters this weekend ranked first in the country with a paltry 1.52 goals against average. Despite logging heavy minutes against the opposition's best forward combinations while typically paired with classmate Brendan Smith, McCrea has accumulated a plus-20 rating that currently ranks tied for seventh in the nation.
 
McCrea is also a big contributor on the Big Red penalty kill. Of the 10 five-on-four goals surrendered by Cornell this season, McCrea has only been on the ice for two of them.
 
For all of the defensive acumen demonstrated by the Big Red under the direction of Mike Schafer, now in his 23rd season as the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey, Cornell has only won the Best Defensive Defenseman award four times since it was reincarnated in 1993. The last Big Red blueliner to win it was Justin Krueger in 2010.
 
Other finalists for ECAC Hockey's top defensive defensemen are Harvard's John Marino and Clarkson's Kelly Summers. The winner is expected to be announced Friday.