University of Maine senior defenseman and co-captain Brandon Holt is one of 25 semifinalists for the 74th Walter Brown Award, which is presented annually to the top American-born college player in New England.
The announcement was made by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.
There are 19 forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders in contention.
With eight regular season games still remaining, Holt has already set his single-season highs for goals (5), assists (17) and points (22) while playing in all 26 games. He leads the Black Bears in assists and UMaine’s second-leading point-getter.
He is tied for third on the team in plus-minus at plus-13. He has been at least plus-one in 11 games, even in 10 and a minus player in five.
A player receives a plus-one if they are on the ice when their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the opponent scores one.
Holt has scored a game-winning goal and assisted on two game-winners. He also has six power play assists.
The native of Grand Forks, North Dakota has had seven multi-point games and is second on the team in blocked shots with 34.
The 5-foot-11, 184-pound Holt leads the Black Bears in minutes played averaging 22:48 per game. He played 27:53 in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Providence which was tops among players on both teams and nearly five minutes more than the 23:00 played by teammate Frank Djurasevic, who was second.
Holt’s 22 points are tied for eighth in the country among defensemen and while his 17 assists are fifth-most.
There are 63 Division I schools.
He is currently third in career scoring among active Hockey East defensemen with 68 on 17 goals and 51 assists in 117 career games.
Holt was an All-Hockey East third team selection last season and was the runner-up to Boston College’s Eamon Powell for the league’s best defensive defenseman award.
He is currently one of only two Hockey East defensemen over the last 20-plus years to record 60-plus career points while also being assessed less than 40 penalty minutes. He has accrued 38 penalty minutes in his career to date.
The University of Maine has produced two Walter Brown Award winners in the past, winger Mike McHugh in 1988 and goalie Jeremy Swayman in 2020.
