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January 8, 2008
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 |
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1.
Nathan Gerbe
Boston College
Junior | Forward |
To
Date: 16-13—29, 6 PPG, +10
The Buzz: Gerbe jumps to the
top of the Hobey Tracker because, in the words
of a Boston College fan and frequent e-mailer
to INCH, "He's a pimp." Over the last
six games, college hockey's Huggy Bear has scored
11 goals and nine assists. Not surprisingly, Gerbe's
tear coincided with a BC win streak that ended
at five games last weekend with a loss at Clarkson.
No disrespect to the other candidates, but the
race may be over if Gerbe plays at this level
during the overhyped Beanpot.
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2.
Kevin Porter
Michigan
Senior | Forward |
To
Date: 19-12—31, 10 PPG, +14
The Buzz: After notching a goal
and an assist against Providence in the first
round of the GLI, Porter was blanked in the Wolverines'
title-game win over Michigan Tech, ending his
nine-game point streak — his first score-sheet
goose egg since Nov. 10. Sliding to the second
spot isn't an indictment on Porter's play, but
a testament to Gerbe's phenomenal run. And while
Porter won't enjoy as stage as grand as the Beanpot,
U-M does has upcoming series against Notre Dame,
Michigan State, and Miami.
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3.
Ryan Lasch
St. Cloud State
Soph. | Forward |
To
Date: 17-15—32, 8 PPG, -4
The Buzz: The nation's leading
scorer has vaulted to a tie for second place in
the country in goal scoring thanks to a three-game
goal streak that started with a hat trick in the
Huskies' 4-1 win against Harvard in the Ohio Hockey
Classic third-place game. SCSU's remaining schedule
includes — home-and-home series with Minnesota
and Minnesota State, trips to Colorado College,
Alaska Anchorage, and North Dakota, and home dates
with Michigan Tech and Wisconsin. |
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| BULL
MARKET |
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Brock Trotter
Denver
Sophomore
Forward
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The
Pioneers have plenty of star power at forward with
the likes of Rakhshani, Ruegsegger, Bozak, and Ostrow,
but Trotter's the one who's shining the brightest
right now. He ranks third in the WCHA in goals (12),
assists (15), and points (27), and he's been at
his best in 5-on-5 situations as evidenced by his
plus-minus rating of +15 and 19 even-strength points.
The Brandon, Manitoba native comes into this weekend's
series with Wisconsin on a serious roll —
he's scored at least one goal in each of DU's previous
four games, and has recorded 5-6—11over that
stretch. |
| BEAR
MARKET |
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Defensemen
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Defensemen
have won the Hobey Baker Award three times since
1999, and at least one blueliner has been named
a finalist in 11 of the last 13 years. The odds
of a defenseman being among the final 10 in 2008
look fairly slim. Part of that is due to the defection
of underclassmen to the National Hockey League —
Messrs. Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson serving as
Exhibit 1A and 1B. An off-ice incident robbed us
of ex-BC rearguard Brett Motherwell, who's now in
the American Hockey League. And highly regarded
returnees, such as North Dakota's Taylor Chorney
and Boston University's Matt Gilroy, both of whom
were INCH preseason first-team All-Americans, have
had good years, but not Hobey-caliber efforts. |
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HIDDEN
HOBEY |
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Carter
Hutton
UMass Lowell
Sophomore
Goaltender
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Normally,
one would expect a goalie who leads the country
in both goals against average and save percentage
to be a sure-fire Hobey finalist. Hutton, who tops
the nation with a 1.14 GAA and a .956 save percentage,
is an exception for a couple reasons. One, he's
part of a platoon system with classmate Nevin Hamilton.
Two is that Hutton, who missed six games with an
injury, is barely eligible for the national rankings.
Goalies must play a minimum of one-third of their
team's minutes in order to qualify for the individual
rankings. Hutton's playing time entering the week
is 369:38, just 27 minutes and change better than
the one-third requirement. |
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