Sigalet a Hobey Baker finalist

3/18/2005

The Hobey Baker Foundation announced today that Bowling Green State University's Jordan Sigalet has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial award, given annually to the top collegiate men's hockey player.

The finalists are selected by vote of the nation's 58 Division I head coaches, along with the preliminary voting results on-line. Criteria for the award, which is celebrating its 25th season, include strength of character on and off the ice, along with scholastic achievements and sportsmanship.

The award's winner will be determined from among the finalists by the Hobey Baker Selection Committee, a group of coaches, scouts and media and a representative from USA Hockey. Fans also contribute to the final decision on-line.

The other nine finalists are Reid Cashman, Quinnipiac; Patrick Eaves, Boston College; Dov Grumet-Morris, Harvard; T.J. Hensick, Michigan; David McKee, Cornell; Colin Murphy, Michigan Tech; Marty Sertich, Colorado College; Brett Sterling, Colorado College, and Tuomas Tarkki, Northern Michigan.

Sigalet is the first Falcon Hobey Baker finalist since Brian Holzinger in 1995.

Sigalet, a senior from Surrey, B.C., becomes just the sixth Falcon and the first goalie in the 36-year history of the program to be named a Hobey Baker Finalist.

Two former BG players have won the award, including George McPhee in 1982 and Holzinger. The other Falcon finalists were Rob Blake (1990), Nelson Emerson (1988, 1989, 1990) and Brian Hills (1982, 1983).

"It is an honor to be named among the finalists for the best college hockey player in the country," said Sigalet. "I want to thank everyone, on and off the ice, that helped me during my four years at Bowling Green. To be mentioned with names like McPhee, Holzinger, Blake, Emerson and Hills is unbelievable."

Sigalet ended this past season with a 16-12-3 record and led all Central Collegiate Hockey

Association goalies with an average of 30.1 saves per game. Only four goaltenders nationally recorded more saves than the 963 shots he turned aside.

He was also the recipient of the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award, given annually to the CCHA player who has persevered through adversity. Sigalet was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in March of 2004 and made knowledge of his disease public on Dec. 11, 2004.

The 2001, seventh-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins ended his career with a school-record .915 save percentage through 102 games.

He also finished second all-time at BG with a 2.98 goals-against average and third all-time with 3,147 saves. He was named All-CCHA first team in 2004 and second team in 2005.

NEW YORK - When the NHL canceled the season, the league warned players that future offers wouldn't be as good as those that were rejected. There was proof of that yesterday.

During a 2 1/2-hour bargaining session in New York, the NHL gave the players' association two six-year proposals: one with a tie between league revenues and player costs and one without. So far, the union isn't interested in either.

A source close to the negotiations told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the "de-linked" offer contained a hard cap of $37.5 million per team, $5 million less than commissioner Gary Bettman's final, nonnegotiable proposal made on Feb. 15 - the night before he called off the season.

Back then, the players responded with a soft-cap offer of $49 million. So as far apart as the sides were then, the gap appeared even wider yesterday.

The NHL, however, did make some concessions. The new offer included a minimum payroll number of $22.5 and provided a mechanism to negotiate the cap upward if there was certain revenue success, the source said.

The removal of linkage was what got the players to agree for the first time to accept a salary cap.

But a deal was never close to being reached, and a midground number was never offered. Once the season was wiped out, both sides said all offers were off the table.