Third Member Of FSU's NCAA Final Eight Squad Turns Pro As Kenny Babinski Joins Alaska Aces

Big Rapids, Mich. - A third member of Ferris State University's men's ice hockey squad that reached the NCAA Final Eight again this year has signed to play professionally as senior forward Kenny Babinski (Midland) joined the Alaska Aces of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).

The 5-10 Babinski played in 142 games during his four-year Bulldog career and played a key role this season as FSU reached the regional championship game for the third time in five years. He also helped the Bulldogs capture the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Broadmoor Trophy as the league's Final Five Champion as FSU won its first-ever conference postseason crown.

Babinski will wear #12 for the Aces, who have five games remaining in the regular season starting with a pair of road tilts against the Utah Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday (April 1-2) nights.

As a senior this year, the veteran center tallied 14 points on 10 goals and four assists in 36 contests while notching 81 shots on goal and three power-play markers in addition to a game-winner. He finished his Bulldog career with 52 points on 29 goals and 23 assists.

The Midland native played in 38 games as a junior in 2014-15, scoring seven goals to go with six assists for 13 points. It came on the heels of a strong sophomore campaign in 2013-14 in which he notched nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points while totaling four game-winning assists. He played in 26 games as a freshman in 2012-13 with six points on three goals and three assists.

Prior to becoming a Bulldog, Babinski spent two years with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League. He also played prep hockey for Midland High School before joining the Lancers and helped the Chemics to a state runner-up finish.

Babinski becomes the third member of this season's FSU squad to join a professional team this week. Previously, junior captain Kyle Schempp signed with the NHL's New York Islanders with senior defenseman Simon Denis inking a pro deal with the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets.

The Bulldogs closed the 2015-16 campaign by making the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, including the third in the past five years to date. Along with a Frozen Four berth and national title game showing in 2012, FSU also has reached the regional final and the final eight of the NCAA Tournament in both 2014 and 2016. 

Along with this year's run in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs also won the WCHA's Broadmoor Trophy as the league's Final Five Champion. It marked the first conference tournament championship in school history and came on the heels of conference regular-season titles in both 2012 and 2014.