Quinnipiac's Cashman a Finalist for Hobey Baker

March 17, 2005

Ten Finalists Announced for 2005 Hobey Baker Memorial Award

MINNEAPOLIS - The Hobey Baker Foundation is proud to announce the ten finalists for the 2005 Hobey Baker Memorial Award: Reid Cashman, Quinnipiac; Patrick Eaves, Boston College; Dov Grumet-Morris, Harvard; T.J. Hensick, Michigan; David McKee, Cornell; Colin Murphy, Michigan Tech; Marty Sertich, Colorado College; Jordan Sigalet, Bowling Green; Brett Sterling, Colorado College; and Tuomas Tarkki, Northern Michigan.

The finalists are selected by vote of the nation's 58 Division I head coaches, along with the Preliminary Voting results in Vote for Hobey, the award's online fan balloting. Criteria for the award, which is celebrating its 25th season of honoring college hockey's top player, include strength of character on and off the ice, along with scholastic achievements and sportsmanship.

The award's winner will be determined from among the finalists by the Hobey Baker Selection Committee, a group of coaches, scouts, media and a representative from USA Hockey. Fans also contribute to the final decision through Vote for Hobey's Final Voting phase, which will run through Monday, March 28.

The following are brief bios of the 10 finalists:

Reid Cashman - Quinnipiac, Sophomore, Defenseman, Red Wing, Minn.

? National leader among defensemen in points (43) and points per game (1.23) and tied for the lead among defensemen in both goals (13) and assists (30) entering Friday's Atlantic Hockey semifinals.

? Top scorer among all Atlantic Hockey players both overall and in league play.

? Won the league scoring title with 36 points in 24 games, three more points than his nearest competitor.

? First defenseman to win the scoring title in Atlantic Hockey.

? Named the National Player of the Month in February.

? Has at least a point in 15 of his last 16 games and 24 of 35 games overall.

? Has 10 multiple-point games, including a pair of four-point performances.

Patrick Eaves - Boston College, Junior, Forward, Faribault, Minn.

? Leads Boston College in goals (19), assists (29) and points (48) and ranks fifth nationally in points per game (1.41) entering Friday's Hockey East semifinals.

? Tied for second in the Hockey East scoring race with 30 points in 22 conference games.

? Was named the National Player of the Month in January, the Hockey East Player of the Month in both October and January, and the Hockey East Player of the Week on Jan. 17.

? Has posted 15 multiple-point games, including three or more points on seven occasions.

? Had a nine-game point-scoring streak (Jan. 8 through Feb. 4).

? A first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2003.

? Older brother, Ben, was a finalist for the award in 2003.

Dov Grumet-Morris - Harvard, Senior, Goaltender, Evanston, Ill.

? Leads the nation with a .949 save percentage and ranks second in goals-against average (1.53) and shutouts (six) entering Friday's ECACHL semifinals.

? Recipient of the Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

? Named to the ECACHL All-Academic team for the third consecutive year.

? Holds nine Harvard career goaltending records, including goals-against average (2.24) and save percentage (.923).

? Has been named ECACHL Goaltender of the Week on three occasions this year and ECACHL Player of the Week once.

? Has allowed two goals or fewer in 22 of his 28 starts and made an average of 28.8 saves per game.

? Posted back-to-back shutouts Jan. 8 and 28 (before and after Harvard exams) against Cornell and Princeton, touching off a five-game winning streak.

? A fifth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002.

T.J. Hensick - Michigan, Sophomore, Forward, Howell, Mich.

? Unanimous selection to the 2005 All-CCHA first team as chosen by the league's coaches.

? Enters this weekend's CCHA Super Six as the conference's leading scorer and ranks tied for fourth nationally with 22-29-51 in 35 games.

? His 22 goals rank tied for third in the CCHA and he's tied for fifth in the league with 29 assists.

? In CCHA games only, he led the conference in points (43) and goals (21) and tied for fifth in assists (22).

? Became the first Wolverine to lead the CCHA in scoring in league games since Hobey Baker Award winner Brendan Morrison in 1997, and was the first Michigan skater to pace the conference in goals since Jason Botterill did it that same season.

? Recorded point streaks of ten, seven and six games, and has been held scoreless in consecutive games just twice.

? Posted a string of seven straight multiple-point games from Dec. 5-Jan. 15.

? Named CCHA Player of the Month for December after scoring five goals, including two game-winners, and eight points in four games.

? Earned CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors on three occasions.

David McKee - Cornell, Sophomore, Goaltender, Irving, Texas

? Leads the nation in goals-against average (1.24) and shutouts (10), ranks second in save percentage (.945) and third in winning percentage (.823, 24-4-3) entering Friday's ECACHL semifinals. Tied for the national lead in wins with 24.

? His 1.17 goals-against average, .948 save percentage and .864 winning percentage in ECACHL play were all best in the conference.

? Has been named ECACHL Goaltender of the Week on four occasions this year.

? Currently carries an eight-game winning streak and a 16-game unbeaten streak.

? Has allowed two goals or fewer in 28 of his 31 starts and one goal or fewer in 17 of 28 starts.

? Has posted back-to-back shutouts twice (Jan. 29-Feb. 4 and Feb. 26-March 11).

? His 10 shutouts are tied for the second-best single-season total in NCAA history, just two behind the record held by former Niagara goalie Greg Gardner.

Colin Murphy - Michigan Tech, Senior, Forward, Fort McMurray, Alberta

? Finished the season with 53 points, good for third nationally, and led all players with 42 assists. His 1.43 points per game were fourth nationally and he is the only player in the nation to average more than one assist per game.

? His 42 assists tied Michigan Tech's school record for assists by a right wing, and his 53 points were the most for the Huskies since 1992-93.

? Had a hand in 58.2 percent of Michigan Tech's goals this season (53 of 91).

? Finished third in WCHA scoring with 35 points in league games and tied for the lead with 25 assists.

? Boasted point-scoring streaks of six and 12 games this season.

? His 15 multiple-point games included a five-assist effort at Northern Michigan (Nov. 4) and three other four-point games.

? Honored as the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 24.

? Murphy's 145 career points place him in a tie for 13th among Michigan Tech's all-time leading scorers.

Marty Sertich - Colorado College, Junior, Forward, Roseville, Minn.

? The nation's leading scorer enters the WCHA Final Five with 61 points on 25 goals and 36 assists.

? He currently ranks tied for third in the country in goals and stands second nationally in assists.

? Among WCHA players, he trails only teammate Brett Sterling in goals, ranks second in assists, stands tied for second in the league with 30 power-play points and is among the conference's top ten with two shorthanded goals.

? In conference games only, he leads the WCHA in scoring with 42 points, shares the league lead with 25 assists and ranks tied for fourth in the circuit with 17 goals.

? He's also tied with Sterling for the conference lead in power-play points (23) and is tied for tenth with two game-winning goals.

? Has logged at least one point in 31 of the Tigers' 36 games this season, including 21 multiple-point games and eight outings of three or more points.

? Reeled off a 16-game point streak from Nov. 13-Jan. 14, scoring 13 goals and adding 16 assists during that span, and posted an eight-game scoring streak from Jan. 21-Feb. 12 during which he scored 5-13?18.

? Earned CSTV/Hockey Commissioners' Association national player of the month honors for December after scoring 6-10?16 in eight games.

? Chosen as WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 29.

? Hasn't missed a game in three years with the Tigers; his consecutive games played streak currently stands at 119.

Jordan Sigalet - Bowling Green, Senior, Goaltender, Surrey, British Columbia

? Named to the 2005 All-CCHA second team by a vote of the league's coaches.

? Closed the season with a 16-12-3 overall record, a 2.89 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 32 games.

? In 25 CCHA starts, he was 13-9-2 with a 2.87 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

? Led the conference with an average of 30.1 saves per game.

? Only four goaltenders nationally recorded more saves than the 963 shots he turned aside.

? Held 16 opponents to two goals or less and gave up one or fewer goals on 11 occasions.

? His .915 career save percentage is the best in Bowling Green history.

? He ranks second all-time among Falcon goaltenders in goals against average (2.98), tied for second in shutouts (four), third in saves (3,147) and fifth in minutes played (5,924:09).

? Twice named CCHA Goaltender of the Week.

? Helped Bowling Green to its highest finish in the CCHA since 1997 and its first home playoff series since 1995.

? Has earned national recognition for his battle with multiple sclerosis.

? A seventh-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2001.

Brett Sterling - Colorado College, Junior, Forward, Pasadena, California

? Coming into this weekend's WCHA Final Five, he's second nationally behind teammate Marty Sertich in points with 30-28?58 in 38 games.

? The country's leader in goals (30) and power play goals (16), and ranks tied for fourth nationally with five game-winning goals.

? In addition to leading the WCHA in goals and power play goals and standing second in points, he's paces the conference with 31 power play points and ranks tied for fifth in the league in assists.

? In league play, he's first in power play goals (11) and tied for the top spot in power play points (23), ranks second in scoring (38), is tied for second in goals (18) and shares seventh place in assists (20).

? He's scored at least one point in 30 of his team's 38 games thus far, including 19 multiple-point outings and three or more points on six occasions.

? Boasts an 11-game streak (Nov. 26-Jan. 8) during which he scored 10-11?21, and recorded 8-8?16 during a nine-game scoring run between Jan. 21-Feb. 18.

? Owns a seven-game goal scoring streak from Dec. 10-Jan. 8 in which he netted nine goals, and opened the season with a six-game goal scoring stretch from Oct. 15-Nov. 16 during which he registered eight goals.

? Three-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honoree.

? Tabbed as CSTV Student-Athlete of the Week in mid-January.

? A fifth-round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2003.

Tuomas Tarkki - Northern Michigan, Senior, Goaltender, Rauma, Finland

? Honored as the 2005 CCHA Player of the Year and winner of the league's Best Goaltender Award.

? Named to the 2005 All-CCHA first team as chosen by the conference's coaches.

? Going into this week's CCHA Super Six, he owns a 20-7-5 record, a 1.97 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in 33 games.

? He stands third nationally in save percentage, ranks fifth in the country in wins, and is tenth nationally in both goals against average and winning percentage (.703, 20-7-5).

? His goals against average and save percentage are the top single-season marks in Northern Michigan history, and he's one of five Wildcat netminders to post 20 or more wins in a season.

? Among CCHA goaltenders in all games, he leads the conference in goals against average and save percentage, and is third in wins and winning percentage.

? In league play, he possesses the top goals against average (1.81), save percentage (.936) and ranks third in wins (16) and winning percentage (.773, 16-4-2).

? Ranked tied for second in the CCHA at tied for tenth nationally with three shutouts.

? Allowed two or fewer goals 20 times and gave up one goal or less on 10 occasions.

? Earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week status on two occasions.

This marks just the second time that four goaltenders have been among the 10 finalists for the award (1994 being the first).

The top three finalists will be announced as the Hobey Hat Trick on March 30. The 2005 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced April 8 in Columbus, Ohio, the day before the championship game at the NCAA Frozen Four. The ceremony will take place at Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, beginning at 2:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Festivities begin at 1 p.m. with the USCHO Town Hall, followed by the presentation of the Hockey Humanitarian Award.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is celebrating its 25th season of honoring college hockey's top player. Visit www.hobeybaker.com for more.