Joey Payeur
A Fort Frances native is in the running for the top individual honour in U.S. college hockey—and hometown supporters can help him earn the accolade.
Goalie Ryan Faragher of the NCAA Division I St. Cloud State Huskies is one of 68 players under consideration for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as America’s top university player this season.
The 23-year-old netminder, in his junior year with the Huskies, has had a terrific season so far with an 11-2-2 record, a 2.13 GAA, and a .920 save percentage.
Faragher has been named the NCHC Goaltender of the Week twice and has been a big part of St. Cloud State remaining in the top 11 of the national rankings throughout the season, including one week in the No. 1 position and several others at No. 2.
The list of candidates was determined by head coaches throughout Division I, who submitted their choices for the top three players in their respective leagues, as well as their selections for the top three players in the country.
Tuesday signified the start of the online voting process, where the public can go to www.hobeybaker.com and click on the “So Vote Hobey Now” link to vote for their favourite once a day.
Once the votes are counted, the field will be whittled down to the top 10.
From there, online voting will begin again, with the votes cast balanced with the opinions of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Selection Committee, a group of 27 representatives of the media, college hockey coaches and officials, and NHL scouts.
Three finalists will be chosen, with the winner announced in a nationally-televised ceremony April 13.
The award was created in 1981, with current NHL players such as Buffalo Sabres’ goalie Ryan Miller, San Jose Sharks’ defenceman Matt Carle, and St. Louis Blues’ defenceman Jordan Leopold among the list of past winners.
