Two Leaguers Are Hobey Baker Finalists Created: 3/24/2003 9:21:21 AM

Cornell sophomore goaltender David LeNeveu and Yale sophomore forward Chris Higgins were selected among the 10 finalists for the 2003 Hobey Baker Award. Two years running now, LeNeveu has had the best goals against average in the nation and his current mark of 1.13 not only leads all goalies in the land by a goal per game, but would be the lowest ever in college hockey history. He has nine shutouts on the season, breaking the ECAC record, and has set the single-season team mark, passing the legendary Ken Dryden. He is an ECAC First-Team All-Conference selection and Co-Player of the Year and has stopped over 94 percent of the shots he has faced. LeNeveu leads the nation in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts. LeNeveu is the third-ever Cornell Hobey Baker Award finalist. Center Joe Nieuwendyk '88 was a finalist in 1987 and current Big Red senior defenseman Doug Murray was a finalist last year. In the 21-year history of the Hobey Baker Award, a goaltender has only won it two times -- Ryan Miller (Michigan State) in 2001 and Minnesota's Robb Stauber in 1988. "This is a well-deserved honor for David," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. "He's obviously put up high enough numbers to be a Hobey finalist this year. His numbers are similar to Ryan Miller's (Michigan State) who won the award a few years ago. He has put up some amazing numbers that not only lead the nation in all of the major goaltending categories, but to also beat an NHL Hall of Fame Player's (Ken Dryden '69) collegiate numbers," he added. "It is a tremendous honor for him to be recognized as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, and I think he has a great chance of making the top three and have a shot at the award." Emerging as one of the ECAC’s top scoring threats, Higgins recorded 41 points, leading the conference with 18 goals. Last season’s ECAC Rookie of the Year is sixth in the nation in goals per game and 10th in points per game and is the ECAC Co-Player of the Year. Higgins skated for the U.S. Junior National Team for the second consecutive year, finishing third on the team in points. Higgins, who averaged 1.30 points per game, is Yale’s sixth Hobey Baker finalist and the fifth for the Bulldogs in the last 10 years, though the school has never had a winner. He is just the second Eli skater to be named ECAC Player of the Year; Ray Giroux ’98 was the other. "Chris is an outstanding two-way player," said Yale Coach Tim Taylor. "He is one of the most complete and talented players in college hockey." NHL Hall of Fame forward Mike Gartner agrees. "Chris Higgins possesses all of the tools necessary to be a pro hockey player. He even does a few things with the puck that many pros can't." Each year, the top men’s college hockey player in the U.S. is presented the Hobey Baker Award. The group of elite hockey payers was determined by a ballot of all 60 Division I college hockey coaches and by a fan vote. The award winner will be announced on April 11 at 2:30 pm from Buffalo, N.Y., during the NCAA Frozen Four championship tournament. A selection committee of 25 members and fan vote (voteforhobey.com) will determine the winner. The Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists will be announced April 2 with the winner announcement April 11. The Hockey Humanitarian Award, which recognizes college hockey's finest citizen, will also be announced and Cornell's Sam Paolini is among the finalists. By conference, the CCHA and WCHA both have three candidates, the ECAC has two while Hockey East has one. The CHA has its first-ever Hobey finalist. Seven forwards, two defensemen and one goalie comprise the on-ice mix and includes six Americans, three Canadians, and one from Slovakia. Alphabetically, here are the finalists for the 2003 Hobey Baker Award: Ben Eaves (Boston College), junior forward from Faribault, Minn. Chris Higgins (Yale), sophomore forward from Smithtown, N.Y. Chris Kunitz (Ferris State), senior forward from Regina, Sask. David LeNeveu (Cornell), sophomore goalkeeper from Fernie, B.C. John-Michael Liles (Michigan State), senior defenseman from Zionsville, Ind. Zach Parise (North Dakota), freshman forward from Faribault, Minn. Tom Preissing (Colorado College), senior defenseman from Rosemount, Minn. Peter Sejna (Colorado College), junior forward from Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia Joe Tallari (Niagara), junior forward from Thunder Bay, Ont. R.J. Umberger (Ohio State), junior forward from Pittsburgh, Pa.

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