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March 11, 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: Porter and Co. had
last weekend off as the Wolverines awaited the
results of the CCHA 's first-round playoff series.
The opponent is No. 8 seed Nebraska-Omaha, which
comes to Yost Ice Arena for a best-of-three quarterfinal
set. A good sign: Porter torched the Mavericks
for four goals when the two teams met in Omaha
in early November. A better sign: Michigan may
regain the services of senior forward Chad Kolarik,
who returned to practice Monday after suffering
a hamstring injury Feb. 16.
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2.
Jean-Philippe Lamoureux
North Dakota
Senior | Goalie |
To
Date: 22-8-4, 1.66 goals against average,
.934 save percentage, 5 shutouts
The Buzz: North Dakota's unbeaten
streak reached a school-record 17 games last weekend,
thanks in large part to the play of Lamoureux
behind what has suddenly become an injury-depleted
Fighting Sioux lineup. Lamoureux stopped 48 of
the 51 shots he faced as NoDak — playing
without defenseman Chay Genoway, forward Evan
Trupp, and, for nearly all of Saturday's game,
forward T.J. Oshie — played to a pair of
draws against St. Cloud State.
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3.
Ryan Jones
Miami
Senior | Forward |
To
Date: 29-15—44, 11 PPG, 7 GWG,
+17
The Buzz: The Miami sniper, who
leads the country with 29 goals and seven game-winning
goals, replaces Boston College forward Nate Gerbe
on the Big Board this week. And though his goal
totals are indeed impressive, Jones really hasn't
been racking 'em up in bunches — he doesn't
have a point streak longer that four games this
season. RedHawks fans may want to root for Jones
to set up his teammates the rest of the season,
because Miami is 12-0-0 when Jones gets an assist.
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| BULL
MARKET |
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Kevin Regan
New Hampshire
Senior
Goalie
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Regan's
numbers are respectable, with 21 wins, a 2.14
goals-against average, and a .931 save percentage
with three shutouts. It's always been tough for
a goaltender to win this award, and even the gaudiest
statistics have failed to attract the voters'
attention. Regan gets this spot based on being
the best or most valuable player on one of the
best teams in the country. Other goalies around
the nation may also find themselves among the
10 finalists for the same reasons.
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BEAR
MARKET |
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Nathan
Gerbe
Boston College
Junior
Forward
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It just
hasn't gone Gerbe's way since a memorable Monday
night at the Beanpot when he starred in a semifinal
win over Boston University. In the Eagles' last
nine games Gerbe has just two goals and five points,
but has taken eight penalties and amassed 32 minutes
in the sin bin. The Eagles were overtaken by Vermont
and Boston University in the Hockey East standings,
and limp into the playoffs with a 1-4-1 record in
their last six. |
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HIDDEN
HOBEY |
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Simon Lambert
RIT
Senior
Forward
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It's the
quietest 51 points in the nation for a player who
is wrapping up a stellar career at RIT. He's just
two points shy of 150 for his career and carries
an 11-game point streak into this weekend's Atlantic
Hockey Final Five at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown
Rochester, N.Y. A partisan crowd of RIT supporters
will be on hand to watch their Tigers play for their
first Atlantic Hockey postseason title, and an automatic
berth into the NCAA Tournament. |
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