Junior defenseman Brian Moore has never scored a point for the BGSU hockey team, but he’s scoring plenty of recognition off the ice.

Moore has been nominated for the Bank of New York Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award. He was one of 21 nominees nationally for the award, and his mission trip to Haiti was the primary reason for his nomination.

“It is definitely an honor,” Moore said. “At the same time, I want to caution, though, that my intentions are genuine for going [to Haiti] and not to receive the award. I decided to go on the trip, and everything was set in stone, long before I heard there were awards for all of this.”

Brian Moore

Moore went on a mission trip to Haiti in the summer with Active Christians Today, a student organization at BGSU. He helped children by giving away food, painting the compound at the orphanage, distributing toiletries, praying and hosting vacation Bible schools.

“It was a way for me to grow in my faith and develop the kind of character I wanted,” Moore said.

Moore spent 10 days from sun up to sun down helping the less fortunate.

“[Haiti] is very run down,” Moore said. “It’s very disorganized. Everywhere you go, people are begging for food.”

Moore said the experience taught him about how good it is in America.

“Here in America, it’s ‘How dare we not have three meals per day,’ compared to ‘we’re blessed to have one meal per day’ there,” he said.

The trip also helped keep his lack of scoring in perspective.

“I’m a defenseman for one, and I haven’t had the chance to play much. It’s not that I’m not capable. It’s just a matter of opportunity.”

Moore played in a combined 15 games during his first two seasons at BGSU. This year, the honors student has played in 25 of 36 games.

Moore usually wakes up around 8 a.m. and has class until 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., then he practices before going home to study. He is taking 16 credit hours this semester as a business prelaw major. He plans to attend law school.

“It’s definitely tough if you don’t like being busy and having that kind of high-paced lifestyle,” Moore said. “For me it’s easy, because that’s what I like.”

One thing has been tough for Moore: The coaches who recruited him were gone before he arrived on campus. He is a native of Carmel, Ind.

“It’s been a character-building time, but I’m thankful and making the best of it,” he said.

It’s not that Moore hasn’t scored before, either. He has scored plenty in high school and in juniors with the Bozeman Ice Dogs (Montana), where he was a team captain. So, scoring isn’t necessarily at the top of his list.

“It wouldn’t be this monumental experience,” he said. “It’s just a matter of it happening. I hope it wouldn’t feel different than any other game.”

Moore found out about the humanitarian nomination when a friend texted him a congratulatory note. He has since received congratulations from his family, but hoping to win the award is not what makes him tick.

“[My family] kind of understands where my head is with that, so they don’t say much,” he said.

Moore isn’t getting a big head over the nomination, either.

“The other guys nominated are big deals — captains on their teams,” he said. “I didn’t think I would get nominated. It’s an honor either way.”

The mission trip and the award are in Moore’s rearview mirror as his team focuses on the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament the weekend of March 6 versus Ohio State in Columbus.

“We’re definitely struggling, being at the bottom of the league,” he said. “However, we know we’re a good team. It’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same page.”

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Sports.
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