Jan. 10, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Two Notre Dame hockey players are among a group of Division I college players that have been listed at the Hobey Baker Award website – hobeybaker.com – as candidates for college hockey’s top honor the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
Senior goaltender David Brown (Stoney Creek, Ont.) and junior right wing Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) are among 40 candidates listed at hobeybaker.com. Fans can vote at the website for their favorite candidates from now until the end of phase on March 4. The fans vote along with voting by all 58 Division I coaches will then narrow the list of players down to a group of top 10 finalists. From there, a selection committee composed of members of the media, college coaches and National Hockey League scouts will decide the eventual winner. The 2007 winner will be named on the Friday of the Frozen Four weekend, held this year in St. Louis, Mo. The Awards Banquet will take place on Fri., May 3 in St. Paul, Minn.
To participate in the voting process, fans should go to the new Hobey Baker website http://www.hobeybaker.com/. Visit the Vote For Hobey link on the Hobey Baker website, or just click on the Vote For Hobey button on the site’s homepage.
Brown has had a stellar season to date for the Irish. He goes into the weekend series at Lake Superior State, with a 16-3-1 overall record, a 1.74 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and a pair of shutouts. The 16 wins are tops in the nation and in the CCHA while his 1.74 goals-against average leads the conference and is second in the country. He ranks third in the CCHA and the country in minutes played this season with 1,207:05. Brown and the Irish defense have led the nation most of the season with the fewest goals surrendered and go into the weekend ranked second, giving up 1.77 goals per game. Brown has been listed among the top three candidates for this year’s award in early polls done by Inside College Hockey.com and CSTV.com.
Junior Mark Van Guilder is among 40 Division I college hockey players with a chance to win the 2007 Hobey Baker Memorial Award
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Van Guilder leads Notre Dame in the goal-scoring column this season with a career-high 13 goals. His 12 assists give him 25 points on the season and put him second on the roster in scoring. He is on the verge of a career season as he passes his marks of eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points set last season. Van Guilder has not missed a game in his career and currently has a 96-consecutive games played streak. Among his goals, Van Guilder has one power-play goal, one game winner and one hat trick.
The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is presented annually to the top American college hockey player in honor of former Princeton hockey and football standout Hobey Baker. He helped Princeton to a national title in football in 1911 and two national championships in hockey (1912 and 1914). Baker is widely considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of his era as well as the first great American hockey player. In 1945 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, one of only a handful of Americans to be so honored. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as one of its charter members in 1973 and in 1975; he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. A member of the 103rd Aero Squadron, Baker was killed while testing a plane just weeks after the end of World War I.
The criteria for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award includes:
1. Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice.
2. Candidates must contribute to the integrity of the team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.
3. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
4. Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules: be full time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; and complete 50% or more of the season.