North Dakota's Duncan, Notre Dame's Brown among Hobey finalists

Mar 15, 2007 - 11:16 PM ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- North Dakota forward Ryan Duncan and Notre Dame goaltender David Brown were among a group of 10 finalists announced Thursday for the 2007 Hobey Maker Memorial Award.

Duncan, 21, was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year after scoring league highs of 29 goals and 51 points this season. The 5-6 sophomore is third in the nation in goals and fifth in points.

The MVP of the Dartmouth Christmas Tournament, Duncan led the Fighting Sioux to a 21-12-5 overall record this season and third place in the WCHA. He leads the nation with six game-winning goals and is second in the country with 16 power-play tallies.

Brown, 22, went 27-5-3 this season with a 1.64 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage and five shutouts. The senior backstopped the Fighting Irish to a 29-6-3 overall record and the regular-season title in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Also among the finalists were St. Lawrence defenseman Drew Bagnall, Boston University goaltender John Curry, Air Force forward Eric Ehn, St. Cloud State netminder Bobby Goepfert, Michigan center T.J. Hensick, Dartmouth right wing David Jones, Nebraska-Omaha forward Scott Parse and center Nathan Davis of Miami (Ohio).

The players were selected from a panel of all 59 Division I coaches and by online balloting on the award's official web site.

The group will be narrowed to three March 28 by a 25-member selection committee and additional fan balloting. The winner will be named April 6 during the Frozen Four, college hockey's national championship.