Two Boston College standouts and three players from the Big Ten are among the 10 finalists named Thursday for the 2014 Hobey Baker Award.
National scoring leader and returning Hobey Hat Trick finalist Johnny Gaudreau, a Boston College junior, headlines the list, which also includes his teammate, senior Kevin Hayes.
The Big Ten has more finalists than any other conference: Ohio State forward Ryan Dzingel, Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel and Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox.
ECAC Hockey (St. Lawrence forward Greg Carey, Union defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere) and the NCHC (Nebraska-Omaha forward Josh Archibald, St. Cloud State forward Nic Dowd) each had two finalists, while the WCHA (Ferris State goaltender CJ Motte) had one.
A selection committee votes on the award after the NCAA regionals, and the winner will be announced on Friday, April 11 at the Frozen Four in Philadelphia.
Here’s more information on the finalists, six of whom are forwards:
Josh Archibald, Nebraska-Omaha junior forward
Second in the nation with 29 goals in 37 games, he was the NCHC scoring champion with 32 points in 24 conference games.
Greg Carey, St. Lawrence senior forward
He was a Hobey finalist last year as the nation’s leading goal scorer, but this year he’s the leader in assists with 39.
Nic Dowd, St. Cloud State senior forward
A first-team all-NCHC selection, he tied for the scoring lead on the NCHC’s regular season championship team with 39 points.
Ryan Dzingel, Ohio State junior forward
The Big Ten’s leading scorer with 12 goals and 24 points in 20 league games, has 12 multiple-point games in 34 played.
Johnny Gaudreau, Boston College junior forward
He’s leads the nation with 32 goals and 69 points in 37 games and tied Maine’s Paul Kariya with a 31-game point-scoring streak.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Union junior defenseman
One of the anchors of the Dutchmen’s NCAA-bound team, he is plus-22 in 36 games. Union is 14-3-2 when he has a point.
Kevin Hayes, Boston College senior forward
He’s third in the nation in points with 56 in 37 games, and his 24 goals ranks sixth in the country. He had 17 goals in his first three years combined.
CJ Motte, Ferris State junior goaltender
He leads the nation with 26 wins for the WCHA champions, and he’s in the top 10 nationally for save percentage, minutes played and shutouts.
Joel Rumpel, Wisconsin junior goaltender
The second-team all-Big Ten pick’s 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage are both sixth nationally.
Adam Wilcox, Minnesota sophomore goaltender
The Big Ten’s player and goaltender of the year is tied for second in the country with a .934 save percentage and is third with a 1.91 GAA.
USCHO’s Hobey Watch writer Elliot Olshansky had four players on his list that weren’t included among the Hobey finalists: Massachusetts-Lowell goalie Connor Hellebuyck, Alaska forward Cody Kunyk, Denver goalie Sam Brittain and Miami forward Austin Czarnik.
