Bowling Green State University Athletics
Three Falcons Nominated for Hobey Baker Award; Vote Now!
January 18, 2010 | Ice Hockey
The Hobey Baker Award is one of college athletics most prestigious awards for a collegiate athlete to be awarded in their athletic career. The award, which measures a collegiate hockey player's strength of character, high levels of integrity, outstanding on-ice skills in all phases of the game, good sportsmanship as well as high academic achievement.
This year, three Bowling Green Falcons have been nominated for eligibility in the first phase of voting for the 2010 Hobey Baker Award. They are Kyle Page (Sr., D - Wixom, Mich.), Tomas Petruska (Sr., F - Presov, Slovakia) and Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Fr., F - Windsor, Conn.).
Page is a two-time captain of the BGSU Falcons, a position he fulfilled as a junior and a senior. He currently leads all BGSU defensemen in goals (3), assists (9) and points (11) on the year. Page is one goal, assist and point away from tying his career-high marks in all three categories that he set for himself last year. His 3-9--11 scoring line ranks him 11th among all CCHA defensemen in overall point scoring and also ranks 11th in conference point scoring by defensemen (1-7--8). Page leads his team in total blocks (46), is second on the squad in power-play goals (3) and his nine assists rank him third on the team in the category. All three of his goals have been scored on the power play this season.
Page is a two-time recipient of the Jim Ruehl award given to the top Falcon defenseman every year (2006-07, 2008-09). He also earned the Jack Gregory Scholar-Athlete Award and Dr. Ron Zwierlein Leadership Award in 2008-09. Following the 2007-08 season, Page was named to the CCHA Scholar-Athlete Team and was a candidate for CCHA Defensive Player of the Year. He also was named to the Honorable Mention All-CCHA Rookie Team in 2006-07.
A Sport Management major, Page is emphasizing in Enterprise and currently holds a cumulative grade point average of 3.657. He is a 2009-10 representative within the Student-Athletic Academic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is scheduled to graduate this May.
Petruska is on his way to having a career year, currently residing with a scoring line of seven goals, 11 assists and 18 points overall. His 11 assists shares the mark for tops on the BGSU team while his seven goals and 18 points both serve as close seconds to teammate and fellow Hobey Baker Nominee Jordan Samuels-Thomas. He leads the team in assists (10) and points (16) in conference play as well as points scored on the power play (8). Earlier this season, Petruska strung together five consecutive games of scoring at least one point and during that time, recorded two multiple-point games spanning from Nov. 7 to Nov. 21. His most productive game this season was against Northern Michigan University on Jan. 16 when he scored two goals, the first multi-goal game of his career, and added an assist in a three point night. He has four multiple-point games this season.
Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Fr., F - Windsor, Conn.)
In his first year wearing the Brown and Orange, Samuels-Thomas currently leads his team in overall goals (8), points (19) and is tied for the team lead with 11 assists. In his Falcon debut, he recorded a pair of assists against Minnesota State (Oct. 9) and added a third the following night to complete a three point weekend. After scoring his first career goal and notching the deciding goal in the ensuing shootout against the Mavericks of Nebraska-Omaha (Oct. 30), Samuels-Thomas scored a goal in the next two games to create a career-high three game goal scoring streak. On Nov. 14 he recorded a goal and two assists against Alaska-Fairbanks for his most productive game thus far and his first career three point night.
Samuels-Thomas has declared his major as Telecommunications.
To cast your ballot for the Hobey Baker Award, click here and scroll to the middle of the page to vote for your favorite candidate. Below is the official release regarding the Hobey Baker Award voting procedure.
Vote Now for the Hobey Baker Award
Boston, Mass. – As college hockey powers Boston University and Boston College prepare to play outdoors at a sold-out Fenway Park, its time for college hockey fans everywhere to help determine the 2010 winner of the Hobey Baker Award.
Awarded annually to college hockey's top player, the Hobey Baker's highly popular fan-voting phase opens on Friday, Jan. 8. Visit the Hobey Baker website: hobeybaker.com. Click on the Vote for Hobey Baker icon and follow the prompts to make your selection from this year's outstanding crop of college hockey players.
This first phase of fan balloting will run now through March 7, 2010. Phase two of fan balloting will begin on March 19 from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists. The fans' vote accounts for a full 1 percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.
Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award's namesake, Hobey Baker, a World War I flying star better known as America's greatest amateur athlete in his day. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
Key Hobey Baker announcement dates for 2010 include:
• Top Ten list of candidates: March 18
• Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists: March 31
• Hobey Baker Award winner: April 9
The 2010 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 9, 2010 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championships in Detroit, Mich. The 30th annual award announcement honoring college hockey's top player will be televised live during prime time on ESPNU. For more info on the Hobey Baker Award or to access the Hobey logo, please visit hobeybaker.com.
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