|
October 30, 2007
The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is presented
to a deserving recipient on the day before the last
college hockey game of the season. But that doesn’t
mean that college hockey fans, players and media members
don’t think about it all season. Inside College
Hockey's Hobey Tracker looks at the top three candidates
for the award, those whose stock is rising or falling,
and other players worthy of consideration.
The Hobey Tracker will be updated every
other Wednesday morning during the first half of the
season, and every Wedneday morning during the second
half of the season.
| THE
BIG BOARD |
|
1.
Jean-Philippe
Lamoureux
North Dakota
Senior | Goalie |
To
Date: 3-1-1, 0.43 GAA, .983 save pct.,
4 SHO
The Buzz: In a month in which gaudy
goaltending statistics seem to be the norm, Lamoureux’s
numbers to date are downright filthy. In five starts,
the Fighting Sioux’s alleged weak link is
3-1-1 with a 0.43 goals against average, a .983
save percentage, and four shutouts. Sure, Michigan
Tech touched him up for two goals Friday, but has
any goalie in any level of hockey ever gotten off
to a better start? |
|
2. Kyle Turris
Wisconsin
Fr. | Forward |
To
Date: 5-7—12, 4 PPG
The Buzz: Take a moment to assess
the first four games of Turris’s career: 1-0—1
vs. Notre Dame, 1-2—3 vs. Ohio State, 2-2—4
vs. Robert Morris, and 1-3—4 vs. Bob Mo. As
a point of comparison, the last Badger freshman
to come in with this much hype — Dany Heatley
— scored three goals and three assists in
his first four contests. Turris leads the country
in points and power-play goals, and ranks second
nationally in goals and assists. |
|
3.
Kevin Porter
Michigan
Senior | Forward |
To
Date: 4-3—7, 3 PPG
The Buzz: The Wolverines boast
one of the nation’s most balanced offensive
attacks — through six games, six players
have five or more points. So why is Porter on
this list? Well, he’s led a team with 10
freshmen in the lineup on a nightly basis to a
5-1-0 start, including a win over Boston College
and sweeps of Boston University and Northern Michigan.
And with Miami’s Nathan Davis injured, Porter
assumes the role as the country’s best two-way
player.
|
| |
| BULL
MARKET |
|
Joe Whitney
Boston College
Freshman
Forward
|
It's
not uncommon for a smallish forward from a New England
prep school to rank among Boston College's leading
scorers, and the tradition continues early this
season as 5-foot-6 freshman Joe Whitney leads the
Eagles with 11 points through six games. Six of
his points came last weekend in a home-and-home
sweep of Merrimack. Whitney had two goals and two
assists in the home victory on Friday, and then
added two helpers in Sunday's win at Merrimack. |
| BEAR
MARKET |
Nathan
Davis
Miami
Senior
Forward |
It’s
not that Davis has played his way off the Big Board.
It’s his teammates who’ve done it for
him. Sidelined with a shoulder injury since the
first game of the season, Davis has sat idly by
while his RedHawk mates have steamrolled their way
to the top of the national polls with a 6-0 start
— Miami has outscored its opponents by a 28-8
margin during that span. Plenty of contributors
have stepped to the fore during that span. Junior
Justin Mercier leads the nation with six goals,
wings Ryan Jones and Tommy Wingels have four goals
apiece, freshman center Carter Camper has eight
points, and junior goalie Jeff Zatkoff has posted
a 1.20 GAA and a .951 save percentage in five starts. |
| |
HIDDEN
HOBEY |
|
Jordan
Alford
Rensselaer
Junior
Goalie
|
Lamoureux's
four shutouts in five starts is indeed impressive
and gives merit to his ranking atop our big board.
Not far behind those zeroes are the three shutouts
that Rensselaer senior Jordan Alford has posted
in four starts. In those three shutouts —
over Bentley, Sacred Heart, and Colgate —
Alford averaged 21 saves per contest. His other
start, a 4-1 defeat against Boston College came
in a game in which he allowed three power-play goals
to the Eagles. |
|