Top 5 Tuesdays: Hobey Baker Candidates

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The NCAA season officially begins this coming weekend, unless you're in the ECAC Conference which doesn't start until the end of the month. I've been looking ahead to the season and wondering if I might be able to correctly predict this year's eventual Hobey Baker winner.

Probably not but I'm going to offer up my top 5 list, and realistically this could have been a top 10 list so I'll toss out some honorable mentions as well. So without further adieu, here is my list of Top Hobey Baker Candidates for 2009-10.

10) Andrew Volkening (Air Force) - The senior has enjoyed three straight seasons of diminishing GAA with rising save and winning percentages. The Falcons were a hair away from the Frozen Four last year so 2009-10 is a chance to address some unfinished business. A goalie hasn't won the award since Ryan Miller in 2001.

9) Garret Roe (St. Cloud) - He's small but the Los Angeles Kings still him couldn't resist him after the 5'9 forward put up a 45-point freshman campaign. The Kings drafted Roe (pictured) in the 7th round of 2008 and he responded with 48 points last year for the Huskies.

8) Ian Cole (Notre Dame) - Property of the St. Louis Blues, Cole is a terrific rearguard for the Fighting Irish. Not flashy and certainly not a pure offensive minded player, Cole's 26 points last season stand as a career high. There is no reason to think he can't eclipse that as he enters his junior year.

7) Patrick Wiercioch (Denver) - 35 points last year as a freshman has vaulted the former BCHL blueliner to star status in the NCAA. He'll surely take part on Canada's WJC camp again this December and it won't surprise anyone if he makes the club this year. Wiercioch was a 2nd round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2008.

6) Rhett Rakhshani (Denver) - There were two Boston University Terriers in the final three last year so seeing a pair of Pioneers on my list shouldn't be that big of a surprise. The Islanders prospect posted a career high 37 points last year and will look to finish of his NCAA career in dramatic fashion this season. He opened the schedule with a 3-point exhibition game against the University of Calgary.

And the Top 5 are...

5) Jacques Lamoureux (Air Force) - A weak Conference should help pad some Falcons stat lines but Lamoureux is without running mate Brent Olson as well as graduated defenceman Greg Flynn. The trio finished in sequence a top Air force scoring in 2008-09. Still, he was a finalist last season and if he can somehow increase his 53 point junior output then we might see him back in the mix again. Easier said than done considering the Falcons won't be taken lightly by anyone this year and Lamoureux in particular will be a player that other teams will focus their defensive strategy around.

4) Riley Nash (Cornell) - I was speaking with a contact in the WCHA and asked him for his thoughts on Hobey Baker candidates this year and he not only said Big Red forward Riley Nash might be 'in the mix' but that he was his choice to actually win the award. The ECAC's short schedule might seem like a disadvantage since lower point totals should reasonably be expected. However, Nash has been a scoring leader for Cornell through two seasons and plans to take his game to another level this coming year. Edmonton drafted Nash in the 1st round back in 2007 while he was still playing in the BCHL with Salmon Arm.

3) Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota) - The Golden Gophers look to rebound from a substandard year and the newest Vancouver Canucks 1st round pick is expected to be a big part of whether those plans come to fruition or not. His 45 point freshman campaign has set the bar high for Schroeder who was taken 22nd overall by Vancouver in the draft. The Gophers forward has experience at the WJC and has represented the U.S. several times on the international stage. There were rumors that he was ready to leave to join Vancouver of the NHL but those stories quickly disappeared once it became obvious that he wasn't leaving the NCAA.

2) Louie Caporusso (Michigan) - The Wolverines are an annual powerhouse in the CCHA despite also having a constantly revolving roster. When Andrew Cogliano left for the Edmonton Oilers, his timely replacement was another former St. Mike's Buzzers forward from Toronto - Louis Caporusso. The Ottawa Senators selected the forward in the 3rd round in 2007 while he was still playing Junior A in Canada (like Cogliano) the season before his NCAA career at Michigan began. Since joining the Maize and Blue, Caporusso has become a scoring machine striking for 49 points last year as a sophomore and, like with Schroeder, expectations are very high that he'll continue on his torrid pace as a junior.

1) Carter Camper (Miami) - Earlier this summer I went on the record with my prediction for the Hobey and I've decided to stick to my guns. Camper has scored 41 and 42 points for the RedHawks the past two seasons and will be expected to lead Miami back to a national title game again this season. Despite being undersized like Schroeder, Caporusso, Roe and Rakhshani, Camper is the only one of the group who went un-drafted and is still not property of a NHL team. The 21-year-old is an Ohio native that played one season in the USHL with the Lincoln Stars where he compiled an impressive 71 points in 56 games. I've asked several different scouts, media and coaches about Camper and to a man (or woman) the player gets a positive review. Might a pro contract and a Hobey Baker award await Carter Camper at the end of the year? At this point, that's my bet.

(Photo credits: USCHO.com, Michigan Wolverines)

Top 5 Tuesdays: 2009 Hobey Baker Finalists

The ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award were announced back on March 19th but the field will be narrowed down to the "Hobey Hat Trick" this coming Thursday April 2nd. Here now are my own personal top 5, they'll be different choices from many people I'm sure and there's no guarantee that even one of my five will be in the Hat Trick let alone the eventual 2009 Hobey Baker winner. I'd be interested to hear from those of you who are able to follow NCAA hockey more than we can up here, you tell us who the favorites should be.

Before I begin, here's a bit of the criteria that is considered by the 25-member selection committee: "Strength of character on and off the ice", "displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game", "sportsmanship", and "Scholastic achievements". Keeping those in mind...

5. Colin Wilson - Boston University

He's one of the most talented players in college hockey and has the individual stats and awards to prove it. He was drafted 7th overall by Nashville at the 2008 NHL Draft and there was a lot of talk that he would skip the rest of his college career and jump straight to the NHL. He chose instead to return for his sophomore season and went on to lead the Terriers in scoring with 52 points in 41 games... so far. He's picked up a bunch of individual Hockey East accolades and scpred 3 points in a 5-2 Bean Pot Final victory. His charity work revolves around 'Autism Speaks' and his major is History.

Wilson was a guest on The Pipeline Show in May of 2008.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievement.

4. Viktor Stalberg - Vermont Catamounts

As far as I know, the Hobey Baker Award has never been one by a European player (wrong! see comments). Stalberg hails from Sweden and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 6th round back in 2006. He's wrapping up his junior season at Vermont and he was very productive this year scoring 24 goals and 45 points. Like Wilson, his season isn't quite done yet so he's got a chance to pad his stats and maybe capture a National Title in the process. Academically he's got a 3.6 GPA as a Business Administration major. I find it impressive that an import can succeed so well both at the rink and in the classroom.

Downside: No mention of charity work.

3. Chad Johnson - Alaska Fairbanks

The only goalie to make my list is also the only Canadian. The former AJHL goalie was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 5th round of the 2006 draft and has now completed his NCAA career. Johnson recently signed with the Penguins. On the ice, Johnson's .939 save percentage was tops in the country and he had a 1.69 GAA and 6 shutouts to go along with it. The fact that his record is 14-14-5, coupled with those impressive stats, suggests a quality netminder on a team with little defence. Away from the rink Johnson volunteers with Habitat For Humanity.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements.

2. Matt Gilroy - Boston University

I'll admit I'm a sucker for an emotional story and Matt Gilroy's telling of why he wears #97 in honor of his deceased little brother... well it had me going. He's riding an ironman streak of +140 games and has the distinction of being the first player in Hockey East to be named a First Team player three times. Talk about character, this is a guy who paid his own way this year after the program gave his scholarship away because they were positive he was turning pro last summer! His charity work includes Autism Speaks and volunteer work at a Long Island summer basketball league.

Gilroy was a guest on The Pipeline Show on March 24th.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements.

1. Jacques Lamoureux - U.S. Air Force Academy

Like Gilroy, Lamoureux has a captivating back story as well. Long story short - he was deemed mentally unfit to join the military a few years ago as he fought inner demons that nearly led to his suicide. With help from family and his own inner will, Lamoureux has not only taken control of his personal life but he's giving back by visiting schools and speaking to kids about suicide and ways to survive life's problems. On the ice he's one of NCAA hockey's leading scorers with 53 points in 41 games - after missing a year because of a transfer from Northern Michigan! His family is drenched in hockey from his father, his twin sisters to his brothers including Jean-Philippe who was up for the Hobey last year as goalie for North Dakota.

Lamoureux was a guest on The Pipeline Show this past November 18th.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements aside from "completion of Combat Survival Training".

(photos courtesy: Boston University, Alaska-Fairbanks, Air Force, Vermont, USCHO.com)

Opening Game Shocker!

Well it certainly didn't take long for the NCAA National Tournament to produce a big upset. In the first game of the event the Michigan Wolverines were shutout and eliminated by Air Force as the Falcons scored a stunning 2-0 victory.

Everything about this game suggests the Wolverines were absolutely dominant. The shots were 43-13 for Michigan and they also controlled the dot winning 41 of 63 faceoffs.

So how did Air Force pull off the big upset?

Andrew Volkening.

You've heard The Pipeline Show talk about him before and like he's done before, Volkening was a one-man giant killer. This was Volkening's third consecutive shutout as he posted blankings in his final two AHA playoff games and now another against Red Berenson's mighty Wolverines squad. In fact, with shutouts against Michigan, Bentley and Mercyhurst behind him, Volkening hasn't allowed a goal since March 15th against Sacred Heart. One goal against in his last four games... that is quality goaltending.

Jacques Lamoureux, another TPS favourite and past guest, scored the second goal for the Falcons helping show why he was named as one of the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award this year.

The Falcons opened the scoring on a first period power play, one of only 3 shots they mustered in the opneing frame. They scored again in the second period despite having only fired 7 shots at Michigan starter Bryan Hogan to that point.

Next up for Air Force, the winner between #3 Vermont and #2 Yale and quite frankly, I like the Falcons against either one of them.

Remember that at one point earlier this year Air Force was a perfect 13-0 before losing a close game against Denver. After that they went into a bit of a funk but the Falcons ended the year very strong and cruised through their Conference playoffs in impressive fashion.

Don't look now but... Air Force in the Frozen Four? It's one big step closer to reality after today's upset.

Tuesday Review

This past week on The Pipeline show we covered everything from the top goalie in the AHL to a college hockey player back from the brink of suicide. You can hear all the interviews at our website.

Guy and I started out making fun of my cheesy moustache I'm growing for Movember which raises money for prostate cancer. Trust me it's pretty bad, you can check it out and laugh for yourself on Global Edmonton (240 on Bell Express view) We then moved onto the Canada/Russia ADT challenge, whether Angelo Esposito has a chance to make Team Canada for the WJC and how Guy would change the event, which you can also read here. Guy also dished out praise and pointed out flaws in Flaming Hot/Flaming Not, and I suggested what prospect you should pick up in your fantasy hockey league.

Segment two we welcomed ISS head scout Mike Oke to the program. We discussed a number of players for the upcoming draft from Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi of Sweden to the U.S.A's Jeremy Morin to Ryan Ellis of Windsor.

Speaking of draft prospects, Guy and I also spoke to Swift Current Bronco forward Cody Eakin. How is the 6th overall bantam draft pick from 2006 living up to his expectations? Injuries have derailed him at key times in his young career but the hard worker is hoping to finish strong this year and hear his name called at the draft in Montreal.

The second hour started with an extremely inspirational story. Jacques Lamoureux plays for the Air Force Academy Falcons. He's 2nd in NCAA scoring with a game in hand. That's impressive but it's not the inspirational part. 5 Years ago Lamoureux stood on a ledge about to take his own life. Why? How did he overcome his depression? Is he looking for a pro career after college. Take some time to here his comments and you won't be disappointed. I do however apologize in advance for the bad phone connection.

Guy stumped our listeners this week with Bad Ass trivia, see if you would have won, and who knows you might get one of the questions next week. To wrap up the show we spoke with the hottest goalie right now in the AHL, Devan Dubnyk of the Springfield Falcons. The Oilers 2004 first round draft pick recently recorded his first shut out. Dubnyk also told us what kind of boost the Falcons got when teammate Liam Reddox was recalled by the Oilers and scored his first goal.

Like Guy always says, if you missed it live, click the archive, at www.thepipelineshow.com.

School Wrap Sunday

It was a big weekend for some of the Nation's top offences as a few teams had both barrels going, and no team has more firepower right now than (17)Air Force. The Falcons have scored 29 goals in Atlantic Hockey play, and 41 when you factor in their 2 non conference games. They have been held to 3 goals only once, and it didn't happen this weekend as Air Force dropped 13 on Bentley (also named the Falcons-what is this the CFL with two teams using the same name?) in a pair of victories. The Air Force Falcons won 5-1 Friday night, and smoked the Falcons 8-2 on Saturday. Also impressive is the Air Force defence, having given up only 12 goals in 8 games, but it's their high powered arsenal that is jaw dropping. Junior Jacques Lamoureaux, who's an undrafted 22 year old that transferred from Northern Michigan and had to sit out last year, is the leading scorer across the board in the NCAA right now with 11 goals, 8 assists in 8 games. Lamoureux, who's the younger brother of former UND goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureax, netted a hattrick and an assist Saturday night to go along with his goal from Friday. The Grand Forks product could become a hot commodity after his college career, depending on his Military commitments. His teammate Brent Olson is also red hot right now, sitting just behind Lamoureux with 17 points in 8 games. Olson, also an undrafted 22 year old is a senior, and could parlay this year's good stats, along with his near point per game season a year ago into a pro contract in the spring. Air Force should be flying up the rankings after another impressive weekend, and as the only perfect team in the NCAA.

The feature match up of the weekend had (1)Colorado College facing (4) Denver in a Friday/Sunday series. Nothing was solved in the first tilt, despite the Pioneers best efforts.

They peppered CC goaltender Richard Bachman (Dallas, 4th round, 2006)
with 46 shots, and only beat him twice. The 2-2 tie keeps Bachman unbeaten at 4-0-3 this year with a minuscule 1.24 GAA and a .960 save percentage. On Sunday Bachman was just as good stopping 40 0f 42 shots, including 19 in the second period as his mates scored one more goal to win 3-2. It's not hard to see where the Rams strength is, as they've allowed only 12 goals, and Bachman is starting to look like a steal for the Stars in the 4th round. CC will keep it's number one ranking this week, while the 4th ranked Pioneers might slide down even further. 2 weeks ago they were
2nd.

Sticking in the WCHA for a minute, despite 3 points from 2009 draft prospect Jordan Schroeder, (5)Minnesota couldn't put away pesky (12)Minnesota State. Mavericks Senior goaltender Mike Zacharias was beaten only 3 times by the 50 Golden Gopher shots fired his way. However, Saturday night things were a little different. Schroeder's 2 goals paced Minnesota to a 6-3 victory.

Meanwhile it the Wisconsin Badgers got off the schnide Saturday night. After losing 3-2 at Ralph Engelstad Arena to (18)North Dakota, the Badgers roared back with 5 unanswered 3rd period goals on Saturday to down UND 5-2. Blake Geoffrion (Nashville, 2nd round, 2006) led the way with a pair of goals, as Wisconsin picked up it's first win in conference of non conference play. The Badgers still lead the way with a brutal tally of 35 goals against in 8 games, the worst in the country. The fighting Sioux, who started the season ranked 5th, are in danger of dropping out of the top 20.

In the CCHA, (8)Michigan had little trouble with Ohio State, putting up 4-3 and 6-1 victories. Junior Louie Caporusso (Ottawa, 3rd round, 2007) scored his 8th goal of the season among his 6 point weekend.

(7)Miami was not so lucky though. For the second straight season, Alaska upset the Redhawks. Last year it was when Miami was ranked #1, this year the loss may cost them their #7 spot. The high powered Miami offence was held to a single goal Friday night as the Nanooks smothered the home side in a 2-1 victory. Saturday night however was a different story, as Miami seemed to score at will, shutting out Alaska 5-0. Carter Camper led the way with 3 points and is on pace for a 50 point campaign in his Sophomore season.

In Hockey East play, all the top dogs came out on top. (2) Boston College needed overtime to edge Merrimack 4-3. Brock Bradford (Boston, 7th round, 2005) tied things in the 3rd for the Eagles and then won it for BC in overtime. After playing only 5 games last year because of a broken arm, the senior seems to be regaining his form from his 45 points season in 2006-2007. (3)Boston University also came out victorious in their lone weekend game. The Terriers smoked (14)Vermont 7-2 on the strength of two goals from Colin Wilson (Nashville, 1st round, 2008) 2 helpers from Kevin Shattenkirk (Colorado, 1st round, 2007) and a power play that went 4-7. (6)New Hampshire kept pace with both Boston schools, atleast on Friday night. The Wildcats doubled up a pesky (14)Northeastern squad 4-2 thanks to a 2 point night from James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia, 1st round, 2007) but on Saturday had to settle for a 2-2 tie with the Huskies. Northeastern trailed 2-0 late in the 2nd period before tying it up and relying on goaltender Brad Thiessen for 18 saves in the 3rd period and overtime.

Other top ranked schools in action, Michigan State swept Western Michigan, (13) Notre Dame took a pair from Northern Michigan, and Harvard defeated Dartmouth in conference play 4-1, and lost to the U.S. under 18 team 4-0 in exhibition play.

Still no action for (10)Princeton or (16)Cornell, yet they remain in the top 20. I don't think teams should be ranked at all if they haven't played, unless it's a pre season ranking when everyone is in the starting gates. Once they take the ice for a game then they can be ranked.