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Gridiron Club Announces Semi-Finalists for 52nd Walter Brown Award
Three-time nominee Ben Eaves and last year’s winner Mike Ayers lead
list of fourteen outstanding D-1 college hockey players
BOSTON – February 9, 2004 – Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president
Tom Burke announced today that fourteen players from NCAA Division One
programs are semi-finalists for the fifty-second Walter Brown Award,
presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in
New England.
The roster of candidates includes eleven players from Hockey East
schools and three from the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Nine
forwards, three goalies and two defensemen make up the field. Four
schools from Hockey East have more than one candidate.
Three-time nominee Ben Eaves (Faribault, MN) is joined by two-time
nominee and fellow senior forward Tony Voce (Philadelphia, PA) along
with junior Ryan Shannon (Darien, CT) to make up a potent threesome
representing Boston College. BC captain Eaves averages 1.36 points per
game despite missing several games with an injury. Voce leads Hockey
East in goals, with 12 of his 20 coming in league play. Newcomer
Shannon leads the conference in scoring with 5 goals and 16 assists for
21 points in 16 games.
New Hampshire returns last year’s Walter Brown Award winner, senior
goaltender Mike Ayers (Hingham, MA), along with senior captain Steve
Saviano (Reading, MA). Ayers has been a workhorse for the Wildcats
while posting a 2.77 GAA and a save percentage of .903 while posting 13
wins. Saviano leads UNH in scoring and is tenth in the nation with 22
goals and 14 assists for 36 points in 29 games without recording a
single penalty.
Maine senior forward and captain Todd Jackson (Cortland, NY) brings his
heady play and five shorthanded goals, second in the nation, to the
list. Teammate Jimmy Howard (Ogdensburg, NY) leads the nation in goals
against average with 1.44 and is second in save percentage, posting a
.941 through 11 games.
Providence College senior captain, defenseman Stephen Wood (Sudbury,
MA), has contributed 7 goals and 12 assists for 19 points to go with
stellar play on the blue line. Junior goaltender David Cacciola
(Burlington, MA) has posted superb numbers with 2.06 goals against
average and .933 save percentage, good for third in the nation.
Merrimack sophomore defenseman Bryan Schmidt (Bloomington, MN) has
collected 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points in support of his strong
defensive play for the Warriors. UMass-Amherst sophomore forward
Stephen Werner (Chevy Chase, MD) played for the victorious USA World
Junior Championship team and provides the Minutemen with dynamic
offense, totaling 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
The ECAC is well represented with candidates from three Ivy League
teams. Yale sophomore forward Joe Zappala (Medford, MA) leads the
nation in game-winning scores with eight amongst his seventeen goals to
date. Harvard junior forward Tom Cavanaugh (Warwick, RI) leads the
Crimson in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points while
playing solidly at both ends of the ice. Dartmouth’s Lee Stempniak
(West Seneca, NY), also a junior forward, leads the Big Green in goals
and scoring with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
“Every year we seem to find a group of outstanding candidates for the
Walter Brown Award, and this year is clearly no exception,” stated
committee chairman Tim Costello. “There are roughly six weeks of hockey
yet to be played. Our committee members will be observing these
nominees closely and will make the final selection in mid to late
March.”
The 2004 Walter Brown Award will be presented at the New England Hockey
Writers’ Dinner in April.
2003-2004 Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Selection Committee and Advisory
Board: Tim Costello, Chairman; Joe Bertagna, Tom Burke, Paul Costello,
Bob DeGregorio, Ned Cully, Kevin Fleming, Steve Hagwell, Dick Lawrence,
Hon. Gordon A. Martin, Jr., Bob Norton, William J. Stewart III, and
Brian Sullivan.
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