Senior Forward Steven Vierkant has been selected to be the Patriots’ 2013 recipient of the Hobey Baker High School Character Award.  First established in 2003, and awarded in Rhode Island since 2006, the award is presented to the player on each High School hockey team in the State that best exemplifies the values and traits of Hobey Baker himself:  Character, Commitment, Teamwork, Persistence, Selflessness, Academic Excellence, and Sportsmanship.  “The Team before me.”  The award is currently presented in 20 States and the District of Columbia.  Baker is widely regarded as the first American hockey star.

Known as “Big Blue” to his teammates, Vierkant skated for the first time with the team this season.  Throughout the Patriots’ just completed campaign his positive attitude, hard work in practice, and dedication to the team set a superb example for all the players on the squad.  In a challenging season for the Patriots, he was always positive and supportive of the team.  An honor roll student in school, Vierkant is one of those players that helped make being on the team a memorable and rewarding experience for all his teammates.

Vierkant will be honored, along with the recipients from other Rhode Island teams, in two special events. The first is an on-ice ceremony at the Providence Bruins game with the Portland Pirates on March 3, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Arena. Game time is 3:05 pm.  In the second event Vierkant and the other awardees will be honored by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee in a ceremony at the State House in Providence on March 14 at 3:45 PM.