TROY, N.Y. – ECAC Hockey has announced the finalists for the Player of the Year Award and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Chase Polacek, a junior forward, is one of three candidates for the prestigious honor. The other two candidates are Yale senior forward Sean Backman and Cornell senior goalie Ben Scrivens. The winner will be announced at a league banquet on Thursday night.

Polacek, a native of Edina, Minn., played in all 39 games this season, tallying 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points. He had 13 power play goals, two shorthanded goals and 40 penalty minutes. He currently ranks second in the nation in power play goals, third in goals and points, seventh in goals per game (0.67) and points per game (1.33) and ninth in shorthanded goals (2).

In 22 ECAC Hockey games, Polacek recorded 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points. Six of his markers came on the power play and two were shorthanded. He was first in points, points per game (1.59), power play points (15), shorthanded goals and shorthanded points (5). The Academy of Holy Angels graduate was also third in goals, assists, goals per game (0.77) and assists per game (0.82) and fourth in power play goals.

During the course of the season, Polacek had a 14-game point streak and five streaks of two points or more. He also compiled a six-game goal scoring streak and had a five-game assist streak. He was held without a point no longer than two straight games.

In 116 career games, Polacek has 44 goals and 68 assists for 112 points. He had 28 points (7 goals, 21 assists) in 38 games as a freshman and 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) as a sophomore. He led the team in goals, assists and points in 2008-09 and assists in his first season.

RPI's most recent ECAC Hockey Player of the Year is Marc Cavosie, a forward who won the award following the 2001-02 season. The Engineers' only other honoree is Bob Brinkworth, who was named following the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons.