University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's hockey players
Gabbie Hughes and
Ben Patt were two of 11 nominations for the 2022 Hockey Humanitarian Award, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Tuesday. The award, which is celebrating its 27th season, is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Hughes was nominated for her involvement with Sophie's Squad, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the mental health of athletes from the youth level to college by raising awareness of mental health issues and removing the stigma associated with getting help. The Lino Lakes, Minn. native was one of the founders of the organization, and is committed as a board/committee member who attends most meetings, runs all the social media accounts and works to promote the organization. Hughes , who recently helped coordinate the Sophie's Squad, Hockey Hits Back game for the Bulldogs on Jan. 15 is involved in the organization in many different ways. Hughes does everything from help pack bags for game participants to lending her her presence at games behind the tables, driving all over Minnesota to support the organization. All in on the importance of mental health, the assistant captain also joined the leadership board of the Green Bandana Project this fall. The Green Bandana Project is a student athlete-led mental health awareness campaign at UMD that was started by the athletic department's SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) in the Fall of 2019.
Currently the NCAA leader in points per game at 1.82 points per game, the passion Hughes has found off the ice has not diminished her play on it. Hughes leads the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 30 points in 18 games, and has a league-best 21 conference assists. Overall, Hughes ranks second in the NCAA with 40 points (14g, 26a) in 22 games.
Patt garnered a nomination for his work in promoting Movember, a foundation that raises money and brings awareness to men's mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. During his time in Duluth, Patt has been a constant advocate for the issues surrounding men's health and the Movember movement. This past November, Patt helped the team raise over $11,000 towards the Movember campaign. To raise awareness, Patt pushed his teammates to grew fun and quirky mustaches to blow up social media. In addition to the impressive money raised, Patt won the NCHC's Best Movember Mustache for the second straight season.
Now a redshirt-senior, Patt is a two-time NCAA National Champion with the Bulldogs, helping UMD capture back-to-back championships in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Over his time in Duluth, Patt has earned NCHC All-Academic Honors four times, while also being named an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in 2017-18. During the current 2021-22 campaign, Patt has appeared in two games for the Bulldogs and registered a total of 56 saves.
Finalists for the 2022 Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February. The 2022 recipient will be honored on Friday, April 8th during the NCAA Men's Frozen Four weekend in Boston, Massachusetts.
