DREW LEBLANC WINS HOBEY BAKER AWARD

The mood on St. Cloud State’s charter flight back to central Minnesota late Friday was likely a little lighter than it might have been had the team left 24 hours earlier. Though the Huskies won’t get a team trophy after Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four semifinals, they took home college hockey’s top individual honor.

Senior forward Drew LeBlanc, from Hermantown, was named the 2013 winner of the Hobey Baker Award. LeBlanc was the WCHA Player of the Year and led the Huskies with 50 points in 42 games. It was a notable comeback for LeBlanc, who had what would have been his final season of college hockey cut short in November 2011 when he suffered a compound leg fracture in a game against Wisconsin.