Minnesota Golden Gophers sophomore goaltender Adam Wilcox was named one of ten finalists for the 2014 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, the Gophers announced today.
Wilcox was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Goaltender of the Year earlier this week. He backstopped the Gophers to the top-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins today at Xcel Energy Center, and the No. 1 ranking in college hockey. Minnesota has sat atop the polls for 16 weeks this season.
The South St. Paul native allowed only 30 goals in 18 conference games this season, and he ranks third nationally in wins (23), save percentage (.934) and goals-against average (1.91).
St. Cloud State forward Nic Dowd is also a finalist. The first-team all-National Collegiate Hockey Conference star led the regular season conference champion Huskies with 39 points, according to USCHO.com.
The other eight players up for the award include:
- Josh Archibald, Forward, Nebraska-Omaha
- Greg Carey, Forward, St. Lawrence
- Ryan Dzingel, Forward, Ohio State
- Johnny Gaudreau, Forward, Boston College
- Shayne Gostisbehere, Defenseman, Union
- Kevin Hayes, Forward, Boston College
- CJ Motte, Goalie, Ferris State
- Joel Rumpel, Goalie, Wisconsin
Nebraska-Omaha’s Archibald is from Brainerd, Minnesota. He ranks second in the nation with 29 goals.
The favorite for the award is Gaudreau. The Boston College star leads the nation in scoring, having recorded points in all but two games this season. He was a top three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award last year.
HobeyBaker.com provides more context on each finalist in this video.
