March 29, 2006
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Carle, Elliott, Collins Named Hobey Hat Trick
CHN Staff Report
MINNEAPOLIS — Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott, Denver defenseman Matt Carle, and Boston College forward Chris Collins have been named the Hobey Hat Trick finalists, emblematic of the top three finishers in this year's Hobey Baker Memorial Award voting.
The voting was conducted after the NCAA Regionals this past weekend, and the winner is already known. It will be announced during the Frozen Four, on Friday evening, April 7, in Milwaukee.
Carle, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, became the first player in WCHA history to be voted the league's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. A first-team All-WCHA selection for the second year in a row, Carle leads the nation in assists (42) and leads all NCAA defensemen in points (53). Carle, who recently joined the NHL's San Jose Sharks and scored his first NHL goal, was a member of the 2004 and 2005 NCAA championship teams.
Collins, a native of Fairport, N.Y., was the Hockey East Player of the Year and a first-team All-Hockey East selection. An alternate captain, he has led Boston College to the NCAA Frozen Four, and heads to Milwaukee with 61 points in 40 games (31-30—61). He had 39 points in conference play, six more than any other Hockey East player, and won the Walter Brown Award as the top American-born player in New England. Collins ranks second nationally in points, points per game (1.52), goals and shorthanded goals (5).
Elliott, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, leads the nation in nearly every goaltending category, including goals-against average (1.55), save percentage (.938), shutouts (8), wins (25) and winning percentage (.803). Elliott has posted three consecutive shutouts to lead the Badgers to the NCAA Frozen Four, and was named the All-Regional goaltender and the MVP at the Midwest Regional last weekend.
Interestingly, Elliott was second team all-WCHA goaltender, behind St. Cloud State's Bobby Goepfert.
Ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award are determined by vote of the nation's 59 Division I head coaches, along with the Preliminary results of the online Vote for Hobey. Joining Carle, Collins and Elliott in that group of finalists were Miami senior defenseman Andy Greene, Maine senior forward Greg Moore, Nebraska-Omaha junior forward Scott Parse, Minnesota junior forward Ryan Potulny, Colorado College senior forward Marty Sertich, Colorado College senior forward Brett Sterling and St. Lawrence senior forward T.J. Trevelyan.
The recipient is selected by the vote of a 25-member selection committee, along with the Final Voting results from Vote for Hobey. The presentation will be made at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Friday, April 7, and will be televised live on ESPNU. The ceremony precedes the Hockey Humanitarian Award presentation and the inaugural NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. Admission for all three events is just $10, with tickets available at TicketMaster.
