March 20, 2014

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Ryan Dzingel, a junior forward on the Ohio State men’s hockey team, is one of 10 finalists for the 2014 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s hockey. A First Team All-Big Ten honoree, Dzingel leads the Big Ten Conference in points overall and in league play and is tied for ninth in the NCAA in points per game.

The Top 10 list is compiled from balloting from all 59 Division I head coaches and by an on-line fan ballot at hobeybakeraward.com. To determine the Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists for the award, the Top 10 list will be voted on by a 27-member selection committee and a round of fan balloting (March 20-30). The Hobey Hat Trick will be announced April 2 and the 2014 winner will be revealed April 11 from Philadelphia, site of the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four.

“We are proud of Ryan and his play throughout this season. He is very deserving of being named one of the Top 10 players in college hockey this year,” Steve Rohlik, Ohio State head, said. “He has matured tremendously as a player in all facets of the game.”

Dzingel has a Big Ten-high 43 points and is tied for the league lead with 20 goals while playing in all 34 games for the Buckeyes this season. An alternate captain for Ohio State, he is first in the Big Ten and tied for ninth in the NCAA with 1.26 points per game, tying for first in the league and ninth nationally with .59 goals per outing. Dzingel has a point in 23 games, with 12 multiple point games, and is +16. Four of his goals have been gamewinners, two came shorthanded and eight have been on the power play. In Big Ten games only, Dzingel had a league-high 24 points in all 20 games and tied for the conference lead with 12 goals, tying for third with 12 assists.

Dzingel, a three-time Big Ten Star of the Week, recorded the 100th point of his Buckeye career Feb. 15, becoming the first Ohio State player to reach triple digits as a junior since RJ Umberger in 2003. He is the first Buckeye with 40-plus points since 2009-10 and has the seventh 40-point campaign for a Buckeye since 1998-99 and has the seventh 20-goal campaign for an Ohio State player since 2000. Dzingel was an honorable mention All-CCHA selection in 2013.

The Top 10 list will now be voted on by the 27-member Selection Committee and a second round of fan balloting (March 20 – March 30), to determine the Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists (to be announced April 2, 2014) for this year’s Hobey Baker Award.

Dzingel, from Wheaton, Ill., is the fourth Buckeye to be named a Hobey Baker finalist and the first since RJ Umberger in 2003. Paul Pooley was a finalist in 1984 and Hugo Boisvert was named to the select group in 1999. The first award was given in 1981.

Big Ten goalies Joel Rumpel (Wisconsin) and Adam Wilcox (Minnesota) also are among the Top 10 finalists, along with Josh Archibald (Nebraska-Omaha), Greg Carey (St. Lawrence), Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State), Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College), Shayne Gostisbehere (Union), Kevin Hayes (Boston College) and CJ Motte (Ferris State).

The Hobey Baker website, hobeybakeraward.com, has video, bios and stats for all 10 finalists.