National Championship Game Preview and Hobey Baker Award Announced

So let's just pretend my predictions on Sunday never happened shall we? Anyways, I'm taking a mulligan on the national championship game.
(2) Boston College vs (4) Notre Dame


In two shocking results, BC and ND advanced to the championship game by dominating the two highest seeded teams remaining in the field. Even though the Notre Dame-Michigan game went into overtime, Notre Dame physically took it to the Wolverines and showed that while Michigan was the most talented team in the field, sometimes extreme effort is enough to overcome that talent gap.

The championship game should be extremely interesting. Boston College's forwards shredded the best defense in the country on Thursday, and it's expected they will do the same to Notre Dame. Irish goalie Jordan Pearce will be a huge key in this game. He probably needs to stand on his head in order to give the Irish a chance at victory. Offensively the Irish have somehow been getting some goal scoring in the NCAA tournament, but it's hard to see them putting up too crooked of a number against the Eagles, even though their defense isn't very good. While the main focus will be on how successful Notre Dame's defense is at bottling up the BC offense, to me the more important matchup will be at the other end of the rink. If Carl Sneep, Mike Brennan, Nick Petrecki and the rest of the BC defensemen can shut down the Irish it will be a long day for Notre Dame fans, but in the end I think Ryan Thang and company will squeak out just enough to give Notre Dame a 3-2 upset win and the national championship.

Porter Wins Hobey Baker Award

As expected, Michigan's Kevin Porter is the 2008 recipient of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in college hockey. Porter currently is tied for first nationally in goals with BC's Nathan Gerbe, and he finished second in points. Seen as one of the favorites the whole year, Porter locked down the award by scoring 4 goals in their NCAA Tourney opening round game against Niagara. Even moreso, Porter helped lead the young Wolverines to the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and even though they were upset in the Frozen Four semifinals, Porter was a huge reason they got that far. Porter previously had been named CCHA and national player of the year by Inside College Hockey.

Who Will Win the Hobey?

The 2007 Hobey Baker Award will be announced on April 6th, the day before the National Championship Game. Maybe the winner will be playing the next day, maybe not. This year's Hobey Hat Trick finalists are an unheralded scrapper, a goalie with a legitimate shot to win, and the second leading scorer in the country.

The Candidate: Ryan Duncan, Sophomore Forward, North Dakota

The Stats: 31 goals, 26 assists, 17 power-play goals.

What to Like: Playing alongside two bigger names in T.J. Oshie and Johnathan Toews, it's Duncan, who hasn't been drafted, who has stood out. Duncan leads the WCHA in scoring, and was named the conference's player of the year. His 17 power play goals lead the country.

What Not to Like: Duncan's size certainly brings up some question marks, and you have to wonder how much he benefits from the attention that gets placed on his linemates. And, as we saw last year with Denver defenseman Matt Carle winning the Hobey, it usually goes to the best player and not just the best stats.

The Candidate: David Brown, Senior goaltender, Notre Dame

The Stats: 1.58 GAA, .931 Save Pct.

What to Like: Brown was a major factor in the Irish rising to the #1 ranking in the country this year, and them getting a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Without Brown in net, Notre Dame probably would have been upset by Alabama-Huntsville in the first round of the NCAA tournament. His 1.58 GAA and .931 Save Percentage are both top 5 in the country.

What Not to Like: Sure Brown has a 1.58 GAA, but Coach Jeff Jackson's style dictates that the goalie doesn't face many shots. In fact, Brown rarely faced over 20 shots a game. In a chance to really separate himself from the other elite goalies, John Curry of BU and Bobby Goepfert of St. Cloud State, Brown's Irish lost to CCHA rivals Michigan St. in the regional final.

The Candidate: Eric Ehn, Junior forward, Air Force

The Stats: 24 goals, 40 assists

What to Like: Ehn, the first Hobey Hat Trick finalist from either of college hockey's "mid major" conferences, College Hockey America and Atlantic Hockey, (Ehn's Falcons play in Atlantic Hockey) is second in the nation in scoring at 1.60 points per game. His Falcons nearly upset the #1 overall seed Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

What Not to Like: Playing in Atlantic Hockey, Ehn doesn't face as stiff of competition as he would if he played in a stronger conference (think playing Canisius and Army vs. playing Minnesota and Wisconsin). Also, as outlined with Ryan Duncan, the best stats don't always win the Hobey.

The Winner: The only player that stood out in the NCAA tournament, and the only player still playing, Ryan Duncan will be the 2007 Hobey Baker Award winner, just the second ever from North Dakota.