ORONO, Maine — Three members of the University of Maine men’s hockey team have been added this week to a list of players vying for the greatest individual award in college hockey: the Hobey Baker.
Sophomore defenseman Ben Hutton, sophomore forward Devin Shore and senior goaltender Martin Ouellette all have the chance to take home the award, which is given to the best player in college hockey.
Although all three players said they were honored to be selected for the fan voting process, which makes up roughly two percent of the total ballot in selecting this year’s winner, the consensus among them and their coach is that team accolades come first, with individual accomplishments taking a backseat.
“It’s definitely not something we talk about,” Shore said. “There may be some friendly chirping going on, but it’s nothing we take too seriously. We’re all just focused on winning each game as a team, and if the individual awards come, that’s hopefully just a byproduct of our team successes.”
Hutton currently leads the first phase of voting that goes through March 9 with 4,234 votes, almost 500 votes more than second-place Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College.
“I try to avoid talking about it with the guys,” Hutton said. “They like to give me a hard time that I’m in the lead, but it’s all in good fun.”
Hutton is currently third on the team in points with 17. His nine goals are tied for the most by a defenseman, as are his five power play markers. He is currently four goals shy of tying the UMaine defenseman scoring record.
Shore, whose 1,531 votes have him in and out of the top ten vote-getters as of this writing, leads the team in points with 26 aided by his team-high 11 goals. The sophomore assistant captain, who had his 11-game point streak snapped this past weekend against the University of Massachussetts-Lowell, has scored in 14 of his last 17 games. He’s been named the Hockey East Player of the Week twice, and was recently named the Warrior Player of the Month for December. His three shorthanded goals are tied for the NCAA lead in that category.
Ouellette is 10-8-3 with a 2.03 goals against average and .933 save percentage, the sixth-best mark nationally. He is tied for third in shutouts with three, and has also helped out offensively with two assists this season. He was named the Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week back on Dec. 31.
The Hobey Baker Award is statistics-based, but that’s not the only thing that makes these three Black Bears stand out from the pack.
“I think the first thing when you evaluate players is the eyeball test,” UMaine head coach Dennis Gendron said. “The statistics generally support that. You watch Devin and Hutton and Marty play and you say, ‘Wow, those guys are good,’ and then you see the numbers to back it up and support that.
“All three of them are exceptional players at the college hockey level,” he added. “Marty is a very good athlete, and he’s also a very strong competitor. Yes, he skates well and he has good size, but I think what sets him apart is his compete level. Ben Hutton has a very good skill level, but exceptional instincts for the game both offensively and defensively as well. Shore is very similar from a forward’s perspective. He’s dynamic offensively, but he’s also a very good defensive hockey player.”
UMaine is one of only four teams to have more than two players up for selection.
The first phase of voting lasts through March 9, where the top ten vote-getters will be selected to move on to phase two on March 20. The 2014 winner will be announced from a field of three finalists on April 11 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championships in Philadelphia.
UMaine boasts two previous Hobey Baker winners in Scott Pellerin and Paul Kariya, who won the award in back-to-back seasons in 1992-93. The University of Minnesota-Duluth has the most winners of any school all-time with five, including 2012 winner Jack Connolly, who beat out UMaine forward Spencer Abbott.
St. Cloud State’s Drew LeBlanc won the award last season.