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March 4, 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
Wedneday morning.
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THE
BIG BOARD |
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1.
Kevin Porter
Michigan
Senior | Forward |
To
Date: 27-27—54, 14 PPG, 1 SHG,
4 GWG, +24
The Buzz: At this juncture, it
appears Porter is to the Hobey race what John
McCain is to the Republican nomination for president.
He scored two goals and added an assist in the
Wolverines' split against Ferris State last weekend.
Porter has a point in nine of Michigan's last
10 games, recording five goals and 10 assists
during that span. By the way, Saturday marked
the first time this season that U-M lost a game
in which Porter scored a goal — the team
had been 18-0-2 when Porter lit the lamp prior
to Saturday.
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2.
Jean-Philippe Lamoureux
North Dakota
Senior | Goalie |
To
Date: 22-8-2, 1.68 GAA, .934 save pct.,
5 shutouts
The Buzz: Lamoureux regained
the national lead in goals against average and
moved into a tie for second in the country in
shutouts with his showing against Minnesota Duluth
last weekend, stopping all but one of the 51 shots
he faced in helping the Sioux extend their current
unbeaten streak to 15. St. Cloud State, this weekend's
foe, is the last team to beat Lamoureux way back
on Jan. 4.
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3.
Nathan Gerbe
Boston College
Junior | Forward |
To
Date: 23-23—46, 8 PPG, 3 SHG, 4
GWG, +15
The Buzz: The good news is that
Gerbe, who had scored just a single assist in
the Eagles' five games prior to last weekend's
home-and-home with Providence, picked up a goal
and an assist vs. the Friars. The bad news is
that since beating Harvard in the Beanpot championship
game Feb. 11, BC is 1-4-1 and has scored a total
of six goals in the four losses and tie.
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| BULL
MARKET |
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T.J. Oshie
North Dakota
Junior
Forward
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It
seems like we've plugged every North Dakotan short
of Lawrence Welk into this space or the Hidden
Hobey so far this season. Oshie, who we pegged
as the frontrunner for the award at the start
of the year, didn't get off to a great start but
has been virtually unstoppable as of late. Since
serving a team-imposed, one-game suspension against
St. Cloud State Jan. 4 — which is the last
time the Fighting Sioux lost, oddly enough —
the junior has five goals and 14 assists for 19
points and North Dakota has gone on a 13-0-1 run,
propelling them to the top of the national polls.
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BEAR
MARKET |
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Hobey speculation
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With Porter
appearing to be the odds-on favorite to win the
award, the buzz surrounding this year's race is
barely audible. In fact, the lack of drama has silenced
one of our favorite March pastimes — debating
the merits of the top candidates for the award.
In the past, INCH has examined the prospects of
each of the 10 Hobey finalists based on two criteria:
"Why they'll win" and "Why they won't."
This time around, it looks like we'll only have
to fill out Porter's "Why he'll win" synopsis. |
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HIDDEN
HOBEY |
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Josh
Kassel
Army
Junior
Goalie
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We mentioned
Josh Kassel as the INCH National Player of the Week
a few weeks ago and his two extended shutout streaks
grabbed headlines. A look at the bigger picture
for the junior goalie for Army is even more impressive.
He started Army's last 14 games, all within Atlantic
Hockey, and posted an 11-2-1 record. In mid-January,
Army coach Brian Riley was looking for an answer
in net, and Kassel seized the starter's job, lowering
his goals-against average by almost a full goal
and increasing his save percentage from .890 to
.925. He ranks in the top-12 in the country in winning
percentage, save percentage, and goals-against average. |
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