Women's Ice Hockey | 2/9/2022 12:55:00 PM
TROY, N.Y. – ECAC Hockey has announced its nominees for the Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) senior
Lilli Friis-Hansen has been selected as one of 12 under consideration for the prestigious honor.
A forward from Lyngby, Denmark, Friis-Hansen is a two-time ECAC Hockey Commissioner's List selection recording the top grade point average on the Engineers in both 2019-20 and 2020-21. An ACHA All-American Scholar in 2018-19, she has earned ECAC Hockey All-Academic in all three years and is also a multiple Dean's List honoree. She is also a two-time recipient of the Bob Conway Scholar Athlete Award.
Accelerating her studies to graduate in just three and a half semesters, Friis-Hansen earned her Bachelor's in Business and Management in December of 2021, while maintain an outstanding 3.97 cumulative GPA. This spring, she is working towards her Masters of Business Administration degree.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Friis-Hansen served as a volunteer learn to skate instructor at the Swinburne Skating Center in Albany, NY. There, she gave back to her sport and helped underprivileged youth gain exposure to skating and the game of hockey.
In 2019-20, Friis-Hansen assisted in RPI's partnership with Girls, Inc., where she hosted a number of the girls for a learn-to-play hockey day. She also volunteered with the RPI athletic marketing and promotions department as at several of the men's hockey games, assisting in Chuck-A-Puck sales that directly benefited the RPI hockey programs.
Friis-Hansen has played in 16 games for the Engineers this season, compiling six assists for six points. Registering 11 shots, she is a team-best +9, while being assessed two minor penalties for four minutes and blocking nine shots at the defensive end.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, Friis-Hansen had missed just one game in her collegiate career, but stepped away from the team in November to help her Danish squad win its group in Olympic Qualification in Fussen, Germany. In her RPI career, she has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 86 contests. The former Gentofte HK standout has taken just four minor penalties for eight minutes, with 33 shots on goal.
Currently playing for the Danish national team at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Friis-Hansen collected her helped her home nation earn its first ever victory in Olympic play on Monday – a 3-2 triumph over Czech Republic – before notching her first point in a 3-1 loss to Sweden on Tuesday.
The Engineers are back in action this weekend, when they travel to Cornell and No. 8 Colgate on Friday (6pm) and Saturday (3pm), respectively.
