The goalie position is the hardest to justify in many cases. First of all
(Erik) there are no style points so even if he smells like a fish, much less
flops like one out of water, the point is does the puck stay out of the net.
Another thing about goalie picks is the team in front of them. Wisconsin is
a solid and tough defensive team, and unfortunately for Elliot (and
Charlie), that reputation of the team works against the goalie. Now St.
Cloud's defense is akin to Swiss cheese, and given that the Huskies were
picked for ninth in the league and finished sixth, the question becomes why
the great improvement or performance far in excess of expectations. The one
and only answer to that is Bobby Goepfert. Goepfert was clearly the biggest
surprise and added more value to his team than any other player. Whether
that is the criteria for the award is another issue.

I have not seen anyone define the criteria for the awards. Sometimes MVP
voting is "best player in the league" and sometimes it is "most valuable
player to his team." That is a big difference because the first definition
favors a player on a good team, but the second favors a player on an average
team. "Best" and "most-important" are two different things. What criteria
the voters are applying for the WCHA teams can be very different than what
people think they should be.

The only award which matters is that team trophy which says national
champions. No matter what the individual award, most any player would trade
those for the one team award.

Nathan Hampton  


On 3/31/06 12:17 AM, "Charles Sackett" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> In no way am I trying to undercut the skill or the success of Bobby
> Goepfert, but I am totally confused as to how he is named first team All-
> WCHA, while Brian Elliott is named to the second team.  INCH has named
> Elliott All-America first team and he is in the final 3 for the Hobey Baker.
> 
> This reminds me of 1988-89 when Curtis Joseph was named Top Player in the
> WCHA (akin to MVP I suppose), yet Robb Stauber received All-WCHA first team
> and Top Goalie accolades.
> 
> Am I missing something here?  Who votes on these things?
> 
> 
> Charlie