From http://www.hockeyeastonline.com
March 17, 2004
Hobey Baker Top Ten Announcements
The Hobey Baker Foundation announces the Top Ten Finalists for the 2004
Hobey Baker Award, which is presented annually to the top hockey player in
college hockey. Criteria that is considered is strength of character on and
off the ice, along with scholastic achievements and sportsmanship. The 2004
players chosen for this year's Top Ten are: Keith Ballard, University of
Minnesota; Brandon Bochenski, University of North Dakota; Yann Denis, Brown
University; Derek Edwardson, Miami of Ohio; Junior Lessard, University of
Minnesota Duluth; Zach Parise, University of North Dakota; Thomas Pöck,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Steve Saviano, University of New
Hampshire; Jim Slater, Michigan State University; Tony Voce, Boston College.
The next phase of the award will be the announcement of the Hobey Hat Trick
(Final 3) candidates, which will be announced March 31, 2004, followed by
the announcement of the 2004 Hobey Baker Award winner at the Frozen Four in
Boston on April 9, 2004 at 2:30 pm ET.
Keith Ballard - University of Minnesota - Junior - Defense
Baudette, Minn.
Keith is second in the nation in points by a defensemen and 11th in the WCHA
among all players with 1.03 points per game; he is also tied for 5th in the
nation and second in the WCHA with five game-winning goals. Keith was picked
as WCHA Defensive Player of the Week in November and was named Inside
College Hockey Player of the Week in February. In 2002-03 he received the
honor of being named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. Keith was drafted 11th
overall by Buffalo in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft (his rights now belong to
Phoenix).
Brandon Bochenski -University of North Dakota - Senior - Forward
Blaine, Minn.
Currently Brandon is second in the nation in points with 53 (24 goals, 29
assists). He is also second in the nation in points per game with 1.43.
Brandon was also named InsideCollegeHockey.com WCHA Player of the Year along
with receiving WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors twice this season.
Brandon has been selected by Ottawa in the NHL Draft.
Yann Denis - Brown University- Senior - Goalie
Saint Jerome, Quebec
Yann has had a tremendous career at Brown with 43 career wins, which ties
the school career mark set by Kevin McCabe '77. Yann set a new Brown career
save percentage record with a .930 mark, which is second best in NCAA
history only to Ken Dryden. This season's save percentage of .942 is good
for second in the nation and his goals against of 1.81 is good for third in
the nation. He also was named the ECAC Player of the Week once, and named
ECAC Goalie of the Week five times this season.
Derek Edwardson - Miami of Ohio - Senior - Forward
Morton Grove, Ill.
Derek was named CCHA Player of The Year at the CCHA awards banquet. He is
second in the CCHA in scoring with 47 points (17-30-47) and is tied for
sixth in the nation. He was honored by being named to the 2003-04 All-CCHA
Academic Team along with being appointed to the All-CCHA First Team becoming
the first Miami player to earn both these honors in the same season.
Junior Lessard - University of Minnesota Duluth - Senior - Forward
St. Joseph deBeauce, Quebec
Junior has become the seventh Bulldog ever to be named a Hobey Baker
finalist. He leads the nation with 55 points and is second in the nation in
goals (27). He also reigned as the WCHA top goal producer with 17; the last
Bulldog to accomplish this was Hobey Baker Award winner Chris Marinucci. His
prolific goal scoring has helped secure UMD its highest (second) and the
best regular season finish (23-10-4) in 11 years. His efforts were
recognized by receiving WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors three times
this season along with being named USCHO National Offensive Player of the
Week once. Not withstanding his scoring ability, he has a +21 plus-minus on
the season.
Zach Parise - Universiy of North Dakota - Senior - Forward
Faribault, Minn.
Zach is the only returning Hobey Baker finalist in this year's crop of
players. He ranks third in the NCAA in scoring with an average of 1.42
points per game. Zach currently is 68th on the UND's all-time scoring list
with 102 points in only 70 games. Zach took time off this season to compete
on Team USA in the 2004 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships where he was
named the Tournament MVP after leading the tournament in scoring. He was
twice named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Zach was drafted 17th overall
by New Jersey in the NHL where his father J.P. played for 13 seasons.
Thomas Pöck - University of Massachusetts-Amherst - Senior - Defense
Klagenfurt, Austria
Thomas is ranked first among the nations' defensemen in three categories: 38
points, 15 goals, and 23 assists. He was selected to the
InsideCollegeHockey.com All-European team. Thomas was awarded the Hockey
East player of the Month in November, along with earning honors as Player of
the Week twice this season, and named Hockey East Defensive Player of the
Week once. Another national honor came when Thomas was awarded Defenseman of
the Year by InsideCollegeHockey.com, and Hockey East Player of the Year by
the same publication. Thomas is not the only family member to receive hockey
honors, his father Herbert has played in three different Olympics for the
Austrian National Team and was named the head coach in 2002 of the same
team.
Steve Saviano - University of New Hampshire - Senior - Forward
Reading, Mass.
Steve is the Wildcats candidate for Hockey East Player of the Year and also
the prestigious Len Ceglarski Award, which is awarded by Hockey East to the
player who consistently demonstrated superior conduct and sportsmanship on
the ice. Steve is averaging 1.21 points per game which ranks him ninth in
the nation. His 47 points is good for sixth overall in the nation. He was
twice named Hockey East Player of the Week this season.
Jim Slater - Michigan State University - Junior - Forward
Lapeer, Mich.
Jim leads the CCHA overall scoring race with 48 points (19 goals, 29
assists), which ranks fifth in the nation. He was honored for the second
year in a row to the CCHA First-Team and was voted MSU's MVP for this
season. Jim was also named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week three times
this season. He was drafted in the first round (30th overall) by the Atlanta
Thrashers in 2002. His father was also quite the athlete; he played football
for Western Michigan and in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and the New
England Patriots in the 1970's.
Tony Voce - Boston College - Senior - Forward
Philadelphia, Penn.
Tony leads the nation with 28 goals and is 12th with 44 points and tied for
3rd with 11 power play goals. Tony was a two-time Hockey East Player of the
Week and in February was named Hockey East Player of the Month. He shares
the Hockey East scoring title with his teammate Ryan Shannon (27 points in
conference play). He is a candidate for the 2004 All-Hockey East Team and
Hockey East Player of the Year. Tony is a communications major in the
College of Arts and Sciences
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