January 29, 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

1. Nathan Gerbe
Boston College
Junior | Forward

To Date: 19-18—36, +15, 7 PPG, 3 SHG
The Buzz: We know about that one-game suspension Hockey East brass gave him earlier this season. And we know Hobey Baker made Lady Byng look like Sean Avery. Truth is, we're not sure how the suspension should factor into Gerbe's candidacy. It'll be a topic on an upcoming INCH Podcast. Until then, we still feel no player in the nation is more critical to his team's success.

2. Kevin Porter
Michigan
Senior | Forward

To Date: 22-17—39, +18, 12 PPG
The Buzz: His season-long body of work is indeed impressive, but his invisibility in Michigan's loss and tie against Michigan State this past weekend — the Wolverines' biggest series to date — is a slight concern. Fortunately, he'll get a couple shots at redemption in February in looming two-game sets with Miami and the hated Spartans.

3. Jeff Zatkoff
Miami
Junior | Goalie

To Date: 20-3-0, 1.50 GAA, .937 save pct., 2 shutouts
The Buzz: The RedHawks are so loaded with talent that they'd likely be an NCAA tournament team with a mediocre goalie. But Zatkoff's numbers — he ranks first nationally in goals against average and winning percentage, tied for first in wins, and second by ten-thousands of a point in save percentage — and consistency are too impressive to ignore.

 
BULL MARKET

The Nation's
Goaltenders

Four netminders been among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award in the same year on just two prior occasions (1994 and 2005.) We could be looking at a third this year, which is indicative of the strength of this year's goalie crop and also attests to the dearth of lead-pipe cinch candidates among the skaters. Check the fields from '94 and '05, and you'll see the similarities to this year. In addition to Zatkoff, Denver's Peter Mannino and Michigan State's Jeff Lerg are worthy finalists, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux of North Dakota is playing his way back into contention, and we'd listen to arguments touting Richard Bachman, Billy Sauer, and Michael-Lee Teslak.
BEAR MARKET

Ryan Lasch
St. Cloud State
Sophomore
Forward

Lasch, who was among our top three for many weeks, finally tumbled off the Big Board. The question at hand: is Lasch a victim of the Huskies' lackluster play (SCSU is 4-10-1 since Nov. 24) or has he brought his demise upon himself? The big picture suggests a combination of the two. During the team's 7-2-2 start, Lasch posted 10-9—19 with eight multi-point games and a plus-minus rating of +5. Over SCSU's last 15 games, he's scored 8-9—17 with three multi-point games and a plus-minus rating of -9.
 
HIDDEN HOBEY

Matt Caruana
Niagara
Senior
Forward

Niagara has always been dangerous and with players like Caruana, Les Reaney, and Ted Cook they're not a team that you want to face. Of those three Purple Eagles stalwarts, Caruana has emerged as the most noteworthy player. He hasn't been as consistent as we might like to see, but his big games have been big games. Caruana has been held scoreless in two of Niagara's last six games, but also has a pair of four-point efforts during that run. Most recently, he scored a goal in each game of a series sweep at ECAC Hockey member Quinnipiac.