ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell men's hockey freshman defenseman Travis Mitchell has been named one of three finalists for ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
Mitchell is one of three newcomers on the Big Red's blue line this season, immediately succeeding in a prominent role as part of the one of the best defensive units in the country. He has been a stalwart in the Big Red's top four, helping Cornell keep opposing teams to just 24 even-strength goals in 29 league games. His plus-20 rating is tied for the lead among all ECAC Hockey players and is solely atop the list for freshmen. His 25 blocked shots ranked tied for 15th in the league. Mitchell also had some memorable offensive moments, specifically in scoring big goals on the road in victories at Harvard and Clarkson.
 
Cornell has captured the league's top rookie award nine times since the honor's inception in 1962, with the last being goaltender Matthew Galajda in 2018. The Big Red has never had a defenseman win the league's rookie of the year award before.
 
Other finalists for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward are Harvard's Nick Abruzzese and Rensselaer's Cory Babichuk. The winner is scheduled to be announced Wednesday, March 18.
 
Cornell continues to hold the #1 spot in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls heading into an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinals series this weekend against Princeton. Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, followed by Game 2 at 7 p.m. Saturday. If necessary, a winner-take-all Game 3 would be staged at 4 p.m. Sunday. All of the games will be broadcast on ESPN+.