|
December 11, 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.
Kevin Porter
Michigan
Senior | Forward |
To
Date: 18-11—29, 9PPG, +13
The Buzz: If this were an election,
Porter would have been declared the winner with
approximately 50 percent of the precincts reporting.
Is there anything about his performance over the
last two weeks to give us pause? Well, Porter
— who continues to lead the nation in goals,
power play goals, and points — had a paltry
(for him) two goals and three assists in the Wolverines'
last four games. If only our elected officials
could perform with similar consistency ...
|
| 
2.
Peter Mannino
Denver
Senior | Goalie |
To
Date: 12-4-0, 1.70 GAA, .934 sv%, 3 SHO
The Buzz: There are other goalies
with better numbers, but it's unlikely anyone
in the nation has made as many big saves as Mannino.
The only goalie the Pioneers have used this season,
he's allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of his 16
starts. He really hasn't been called upon to steal
a game this season, though he had notable outings
against Maine, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Perhaps
the biggest question regarding Mannino's candidacy
is his stamina: he hasn't played in more than
23 games in any of his three previous seasons
at Denver.
|
|
3.
Ryan Lasch
St. Cloud State
Soph. | Forward |
To
Date: 11-12—23, 5 PPG
The Buzz: The Huskies have been
on the wrong end of five straight one-goal losses,
and Lasch has been caught up in a mini-slump of
his own. He's managed a goal and three assists
over SCSU's last five outings, but his plus-minus
rating during that span is a woeful -7. The road
gets no easier for Lasch — his Huskies play
three of the nation's 10 stingiest defenses (Colorado
College, Miami, North Dakota) between now and
Jan. 5, and could face Harvard, ranked second
in scoring defense, in the Ohio Hockey Classic. |
| |
| BULL
MARKET |
|
Nathan Gerbe
Boston College
Junior
Forward
|
Someone
has to emerge from the jumble that is the Hockey
East scoring race, and Gerbe, a fairly popular preseason
Hobey candidate, is as safe a bet as one can make.
The Eagles have wobbled to a 5-4-5 mark with just
one game remaining prior in a first half that has
been fraught with injuries, suspensions, and turmoil.
If Gerbe can start the second half of the season
in the same manner in which he's wrapping up the
first half (seven points in Boston College's sweep
of Boston University a little more than a week ago),
maintain his knack for scoring important goals,
and help the Eagles can string together a few wins,
he'll rocket up the list of favorites. |
| BEAR
MARKET |
|
ECAC
Hockey
|
Outside
of Harvard goalie Kyle Richter, the pickins for
Hobey hopefuls in this league are pretty slim. Among
preseason favorites, Clarkson's Nick Dodge has been
good, scoring 5-8—13 in 15 games, but that's
off his pace from a year ago when he totalled 18-21—39
in 36 contests. Quinnipiac's Brandon Wong scored
27 goals and 44 points as a freshman; he's got two
goals and 12 points so far this year. Underclassman
defections took a toll on the leauge, too —
gone from last season are Dartmouth's David Jones,
Clarkson's Shawn Weller, and T.J. Fox of Union |
| |
HIDDEN
HOBEY |
|
Mike
Zacharias
Minnesota State
Junior
Goaltender
|
Life is
not fair. Just ask Minnesota State goaltender Mike
Zacharias, who ranks sixth in the nation in goals
against average (1.65) and save percentage (.938)
but owns a 4-3-3 won-loss record. The Plymouth,
Minn. native has the misfortune of playing for one
of the country's lowest-scoring teams — the
Mavericks enter this weekend's series at Bemidji
State ranked 50th among the 59 Division I schools
in scoring offense, averaging 2.21 goals per game.
In his last four starts, however, Zacharias has
been nearly impenetrable, posting a 2-0-2 record
while stopping 105 of the 110 shots he's faced during
that span for a .955 save percentage and a 1.20
GAA. |
|