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February 13, 2007
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
BIG BOARD |
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1.
John Curry
Boston University
Senior | Goalie |
Last
Week: Stopped 32 shots in a 3-2 win against
UMass and made 37 saves in the Terriers' 2-1 OT
win against Boston College in the Beanpot title
match.
The Buzz: He's got the numbers
— second in the nation in save percentage,
third in GAA. With his effort in Monday's Beanpot
championship game against the Eagles, he's also
got the signature performance of the season to date. |
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2. David Brown
Notre Dame
Senior | Goalie |
Last
Week: Stopped 34 of 38 shots in a win and
tie against Nebraska-Omaha.
The Buzz: Brown has been consistent,
and you can't ask for much more than that from your
goaltender. It's been a while since he's had to
steal a game, however, and should the Irish clinch
the CCHA regular season title at Alaska this weekend,
he'll likely earn a well-deserved breather for one
or two games. |
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3.
T.J. Hensick
Michigan
Senior | Forward |
Last
Week: One assist in a 3-2 loss at Bowling
Green, no points in a 3-3 tie with Michigan State
at Joe Louis Arena.
The Buzz: Not only was Hensick
held scoreless against MSU on college hockey's
biggest non-Monday night stage, he was also a
minus-2 against the Spartans. Unless he posts
huge numbers in leading Michigan to a CCHA playoff
title, it's fair to say his position on the Big
Board may have peaked.
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| BULL
MARKET |
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Jonathan Toews
North Dakota
Sophomore
Forward
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A
four-goal, two-assist weekend against Minnesota
State gives Toews seven goals and nine assists in
his last six games and 31 points in just 21 games
this season. If his torrid pace continues through
the remainder of the regular season and into the
WCHA playoffs — and North Dakota keeps winning
— Toews will become one of the top three Hobey
candidates. |
| BEAR
MARKET |
Cory
Schneider
Boston College
Junior
Goaltender |
Maybe we
expect far too much out of Schneider, a first-round
selection of Vancouver in the 2004 NHL Draft. He's
been good, not great, for the Eagles. More important,
perhaps are his numbers. Schneider ranks outside
of the top 20 nationally in both goals against average
and save percentage. And unlike Curry, he lacks
a signature win . |
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HIDDEN
HOBEY |
Bryan Lerg
Michigan State
Junior
Forward
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He's 20
points behind Michigan's Hensick in the CCHA scoring
race and his point totals through 29 games (20-11)
looks like one of Warren Spahn's won-loss records.
That said, the Spartans have been one of the country's
most consistent teams during the second half of
the season, and Lerg has been at the forefront of
that effort. Prior to a scoreless outing in Tuesday's
loss at Ferris State, Lerg had goals in six straight
games. Also, the NCAA leader with eight game-winning
goals had picked up the difference maker in each
of MSU's last four victories. |
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