Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?

This has been an age old debate between me and a college buddy. The ice cube question earlier today made me think of asking the collective.

My buddy asserts that if you fill one ice cube tray with 95 degree water and one with 40 degree water then put them in a freezer that the hotter water will form ice cubes quicker.

My buddy is an environmental engineer and has had a lot more chemistry than I have so I’m inclined to believe him, except for the fact that it doesn’t make sense to me.

…and please don’t tell me to go google it. I have I want to know what the collective thinks.