ITHACA, N.Y. — Sophomore Morgan Barron has been named a finalist for ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward honors, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
Barron has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at both ends of the ice this season. While more celebrated for his offensive efforts – a team-high 30 points and eight games with multiple points since Christmas – Barron has excelled in increased responsibility in other areas of the game as well. Despite playing on the wing, he's been entrusted to take faceoffs and boasts a 58.1 percent success rate that currently ranks seventh-highest in the league. His plus-10 rating is second-highest among the team's forwards, and he's a key cog on a penalty-killing unit that ranks first in the country with a 92.2 percent success rate since Dec. 1.
 
Cornell has a strong history with the award, with Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey Mike Schafer having guided six players to win the award seven times over the last 18 years — Doug Steinstra (2000), Stephen Bâby (2002, 2003), Tyler Mugford (2009), Greg Miller (2013), Cole Bardreau (2015) and Jake Weidner (2017). The only other team with more than two over that stretch is St. Lawrence.
 
Other finalists for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward are Clarkson's Nico Sturm and Union's Cole Maier. The winner is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, March 19.
 
Entering the weekend ranked 10th in the nation in both major polls, Cornell starts its postseason run at 7 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series against Union at Lynah Rink.