Local pair look to score Hobey
Donato, Gaudette see tonight
Sometime after 6 p.m. tonight, college hockey fans will learn whether Harvard University has garnered its fifth Hobey Baker Award trophy, or if Northeastern has earned its first.
The three Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists who will be hoping their name is called when the 38th winner is announced in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minn. are Harvard junior forward Ryan Donato of Scituate, NU junior center Adam Gaudette of Braintree and Denver sophomore forward Henrik Borgstrom.
Harvard coach Ted Donato is not only the proud coach of a Hobey finalist, but also as the ecstatic father of one of the players.
“All I would say is that we’re proud and excited that he is a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist. Those are three great candidates,” the elder Donato said. “As a coach, I feel Ryan made a huge impact on our team, on our league and on college hockey. I think he led the country in goals-per-game, and when you consider that three of our teams were among the top defensive clubs in the country and that he faced three of the top four goaltenders in the country in terms of save percentage, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
Ryan Donato finished with 26 goals, 17 assists and averaged a nation-best 0.90 goals per game. Donato appeared in 97 career games at Harvard, scoring 104 points (60 goals, 44 assists). During a five-game stint at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, Donato led Team USA with five goals.
“I think Ryan is always looking to improve his game,” said Ted Donato. “He can play center. He can play wing. He can beat the defenseman one-on-one on the rush. He can shoot. He can get to the so-called dirty areas and scores goals that way. He’s worked hard on all the facets of the game.”
Gaudette had a terrific season leading the country with 60 points, including 30 goals. The Hockey East Player of the Year, Gaudette became the sixth NU player to win the Walter Brown Award, given annually to the best American-born player in New England. Gaudette teamed with senior Dylan Sikura (54 points) and senior captain Nolan Stevens (42 points) to form one of college hockey’s most prolific lines. The trio were the only linemates to post 40 or more points and 20 or more goals.
“Obviously, Adam is a highly productive guy, a guy who wants to be a difference-maker,” said NU coach Jim Madigan. “A guy who will score the big goal in the big game, always around the puck and a guy who doesn’t shy away from responsibility.
“He’s a two-way guy, always gives second effort. He’s a 200-foot guy. He is relentless in pursuit of the puck. He’s kind of like a junk-yard dog with highend skill.”
Donato (Bruins), Gaudette (Vancouver) and Brogstrom (Florida) have all inked deals with the NHL clubs that drafted them.
In addition, today’s festivities will also name the 23rd annual Hockey Humanitarian award, recognizing college hockey’s finest citizen. A pair of local skaters are among the five finalists: Bowdoin College’s Camil Blanchet of Swanzey, N.H., and Yale’s Courtney Pensavalle of Winchester. The award’s motto reads: “In the end, it’s not how many times you touch the puck, but how often you touch a life.”
Frozen Four
Minnesota Duluth 2, Ohio State 1 — Louie Roehl and Jared Thomas scored in the first 3:04 and the Bulldogs (24-16-3) held off the Buckeyes (26-10-5) to reach the NCAA championship game for the second straight year.
Hunter Shepard made 19 saves for MD, allowing only Tanner Laczynski’s powerplay goal in the third period. Sean Romeo stopped 26 shots for OSU.
The Bulldogs needed less than two minutes to ignite the heavily partisan crowd, with freshman defenseman Roehl scoring his third career goal after a cross-ice pass from Matt Anderson. Roehl is one of five freshmen playing defense for the Bulldogs.
Just 1:11 seconds later, they made it 2-0 when Thomas got behind the defense and scored on a breakaway. The Bulldogs outshot Ohio State 17-4 in the opening period.
The Buckeyes rebounded for an 8-6 shot advantage in the second, but could not solve Shepard until midway through the third. On Ohio State’s second consecutive power play, Laczynski’s wrist shot hit Thomas’ left hand and changed directions in front of Shepard.
Duluth’s lone NCAA title came in 2011 when the Bulldogs beat Michigan 3-2 in overtime, the last time the Frozen Four was played at Xcel Energy Center. This will be their fourth titlegame appearance in six trips to the Frozen Four.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.