Hockey: Academy Cadet a finalist for Hobey Baker Award

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Athletic Media Relations Associate Director
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  Air Force junior Eric Ehn has been selected as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, college hockey's most prestigious individual honor.

A center from Dexter, Mich., Ehn has led the nation in scoring 14 of the last 17 weeks. He currently leads the nation with 1.68 points per game with 62 points on 24 goals and 38 assists in 37 games. He ranks seventh in the nation in goals and second in assists. He leads the Atlantic Hockey Association in goals, assists, points, shots (158) and plus/minus (+27).

Ehn becomes the first Air Force hockey player ever selected as a finalist for the award. He is also the first service academy hockey player ever selected for the Hobey, which was first awarded in 1981 to Minnesota's Neal Broten. 

Ehn is just the fourth player to be chosen for the award who is not a member of one of the four major conferences and just the second AHA player. Iona's Ryan Carter (MAAC) was a finalist in 2002, Niagara's Joe Tallari (CHA) was a finalist in 2003 and Quinnipiac's Reid Cashman (AHA) was a finalist in 2005.

A two-time AHA Offensive Player of the Week, Ehn has scored in 29 of the 37 games and has eight multiple-goal games and 17 multiple-point games. He became the first Falcon to score more than 60 points in 27 years. His 38 assists are the most by a Falcon in 30 years. 

Ehn set a new AHA record for points in a season in conference games with 45 points (16-29-45). In five games against teams from the Big Four conferences, Ehn has four goals, five points and is a +3. Ehn's goals per game in those five contests is 0.80. His goals per game in all games is 0.65

Entering the AHA Final Four, Ehn is currently ranked fifth on the CSTV.com Hobey Baker poll and was the No. 4 vote-getter in the fan voting at www.HobeyBaker.com. 

Ehn's accomplishments extend beyond the rink. He was an academic all-conference selection in 2005-06 as a systems engineering management major and maintains a 3.00 GPA carrying 36 credits in two semesters this season. 

He spent two-thirds of this past summer in Air Force Academy-sponsored programs. Ehn attended Operation Air Force at Hill Air Force, Utah to experience the operational Air Force and also, worked Basic Cadet Training to prepare the incoming class of 2010 for the school year.

The top 10 Hobey finalists advance to the Selection Committee, which decides the eventual winner. This committee is composed of print media, electronic media, NHL scouts, the American Hockey Coaches Association (college hockey coaches) and an individual from USA Hockey. 

The top three vote-getters from the committee comprise the "Hobey Hat Trick", which will be announced March 28. A player from the AHA or CHA has never been in the "Hobey Hat Trick".

This year's announcement of the Hobey Baker winner will be televised nationally on ESPNU beginning at 6 pm, CT, on Friday, April 6, 2007, as part of what is now referred to as Friday Night at the Frozen Four. The Hobey Presentation will be broadcast live, followed by the Hockey Humanitarian Award and NCAA Skills Challenge.

The criteria for the award, as listed on the award's official website at HobeyBaker.com is: 1. Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice; 2. Candidates must contribute to the integrity of the team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game; 3. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship; and 4. Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules: be full time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; and complete 50% or more of the season.

A standout hockey and football player at Princeton, Hobey Baker was a fighter pilot in World War I. Prior to returning from France, he was killed at the age of 26 while testing a repaired aircraft in 1918. Baker is a charter member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and one of a handful of Americans to be inducted into Canada's Hockey Hall of Fame. He is a member of Princeton's Hall of Fame, both football and hockey. 


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