Hobey Baker Watch List: Week Eight

With week seven is in the rear view mirror, which means that it’s time to once again take a look at the Hobey Baker race.

1. Jimmy Vesey (LW, Harvard)

Vesey retook the top spot this week after leading his team to the Shillelagh tournament championship with victories over Notre Dame and Rensselaer in South Bend. Jimmy Vesey scored a power play goal and had an assist against the No.18 Fighting Irish on Friday. He followed that up with the first goal for Harvard on Saturday in its 4-0 victory over Rensselaer. The Crimson return to conference play this weekend when they host Union College and Rensselaer once again. Vesey will look to capture the momentum he gained with his performance last weekend, and propel the Crimson to more victories, and ultimately a conference championship.

2. Thatcher Demko (G, Boston College)

Thatcher Demko fell from the top spot this week due to no fault of his own. Demko backstopped the Eagles through their two dominant victories last week. They defeated UConn 5-1 in a midweek affair, before clobbering the RIT Tigers 6-2 in their return home on Saturday. Boston College is now 12-1 on the year and are the second-ranked team in the nation, according to the newest USCHO poll. Thatcher is considered by many to be the player that will determine the future of the Vancouver Canucks. Demko and BC will take on crosstown rivals Northeastern in a home and home series. These games between Boston teams always seem to be a little bit wilder than other college hockey games in this day and age.

3. Andrew Poturalski (F, New Hampshire)

Andrew Poturalski has come out of nowhere this year to lead the NCAA in points for his New Hampshire Wildcats. Poturalski had a hat trick against RPI midweek and had two assists against Bentley later on that week. Having NCAA assist leader Tyler Kelleher to set him up only helps Poturalski to add to his tally this year. The sophomore from New York was not expected to lead the nation in points this year, and has been a pleasant surprise for the 4-6-3 Wildcats. New Hampshire will next take on the University of Maine in a weekend series to try and climb back into the Hockey East race.

Honorable Mentions:

Tyler Kelleher (F, New Hampshire)

Jake Walman (D, Providence)

Austin Ortega (F, UNO)

Zach Green is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email zag5035@psu.edu