Inside College Hockey | Hobey Tracker

March 18, 2009

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. This week's Inside College Hockey's Hobey Tracker predicts the 10 finalists for the award, before they are officially announced Thursday evening. Our forecasted top 10 is listed in alphabetical order.

THE BIG BOARD
Brock Bradford Boston College Senior \| Forward	Stats: 36 GP, 25-17—42 The Buzz: The senior kept up his scoring touch when many of his teammates have struggled to match gaudy offensive numbers from previous seasons. He has four game-winning goals and three game-tying goals for the Eagles.
Ryan Duncan North Dakota Senior \| Forward	Stats: 40 GP, 18-19—37 The Buzz: His numbers are nowhere near as gaudy as the ones he put up during his Hobey-winning season of 2006-07, but he's been the catalyst for the Sioux during the team's impressive second-half run as evidenced by his 11 goals and 11 assists in his last 18 games.
Zane Kalemba Princeton Junior \| Goalie	Stats: 31 GP, 22-8-0, 1.69 GAA, .936 sv. pct., 2 SO The Buzz: The ECAC Hockey player of the year and First Team selection leads the nation in save percentage and was a rock for the Tigers all year. Princeton has a reputation for its offensive aggressiveness, but Kalemba's a big reason why they rank in the top five nationally in overall defense.
Jacques Lamoureux Air Force Sophomore \| Forward	Stats: 37 GP, 31-20—51 The Buzz: The nation's goal-scoring leader is the key to high-flying Air Force's tremendous offensive output. He's especially dangerous on special teams. About half of his goals (15) have come on the power play.
Aaron Palushaj Michigan Sophomore \| Forward	Stats: 36 GP, 12-36—48 The Buzz: Measuring up to last year's Hobey winner, ex-teammate Kevin Porter, won't help his cause. Neither will scoring just 12 goals. But Palushaj has been among the nation's steadiest offensive players — he had 25 points prior to the holiday break, and 23points afterwards.
Jordan Pearce Notre Dame Senior \| Goalie	Stats: 36 GP, 28-5-3, 1.62 GAA, .934 sv. pct., 8 SO The Buzz: Notre Dame is a deep, balanced team, but Pearce stands out based on his eye-popping statistics. He leads the nation in wins (28), shutouts (eight), and goals against average (1.62), and only four goalies have bettered his .934 save percentage.
Garrett Roe St. Cloud State Sophomore \| Forward	Stats: 38 GP, 17-31—48 The Buzz: Minnesota ended St. Cloud State's season, but the early postseason exit won't diminish Roe's excellent campaign. The sophomore led the WCHA in scoring with 48 points, and he was held scoreless in back-to-back games on just two occasions this season.
Ryan Stoa Minnesota Junior \| Forward	Stats: 35 GP, 24-22—46 The Buzz: Stoa benefitted from an incredible start to the season — he scored 10 goals and 19 assists in the Gophers' first 11 games — and slowed down in the games between Nov. 22-Feb. 20, scoring points in just seven of 18 games. He's been hot lately, however, with eight goals and four assists over the last four games.
Brad Thiessen Northeastern Junior \| Goalie	Stats: 39 GP, 25-10-4, 2.07 GAA, .932 sv. pct., 3 SO The Buzz: The leader of the nation's surprise team is a workhorse and also has the stats to make him an excellent Hobey Hat Trick finalist. Only Notre Dame's Pearce has more wins in net than the NU standout.
Colin Wilson Boston University Sophomore \| Forward	Stats: 37 GP, 14-35—49 The Buzz: Since returning from World Juniors, Wilson has been held off the scoresheet just six times in 21 games. BU went 4-0-2 in those games. He does more than just score for the top team in Hockey East.