Michigan State's Ryan Miller Captures Hobey Baker Award
4/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
April 7, 2001
Past Hobey Baker Award Winners
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. - A day after one of the great disappointments of his life, Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller managed a smile. Being voted the top player in college hockey can have that effect.
Miller, who in just two years as a Spartan has broken the NCAA record for career shutouts, a mark that had stood for 70 years, won the Hobey Baker Award on Friday. He follows in the footsteps of his cousin, Kip Miller, who won the trophy in 1990 while also playing at Michigan State.
"This is pretty spectacular," the sophomore goalie said after accepting the award at the Frozen Four. "I watched Kipper get this when I was 10 years old. I thought he was the greatest."
Miller led the nation in four key categories with 31 wins, a 1.31 goals-against average, a .950 save percentage, and 10 shutouts, which boosted his career total to 18.
The Hobey Baker, awarded annually since 1981, is named for the former Princeton hockey and football great who died in a plane crash in 1918 while fighting in World War I. Miller, a third-generation Spartan, is only the second goalie in history to win it. Minnesota's Robb Stauber was the first in 1988, also as a sophomore.
"This kid, what I like about him is he really respects the game of hockey," Michigan State coach Ron Mason said. "He makes everybody on his team better."
With Miller in goal and the Spartans focusing on defense, Michigan State gained the No. 1 ranking in the nation in November and never relinquished it. During a six-game stretch in January, Miller made 165 saves in posting five shutouts and allowed just one goal in the other game.
"Most of all, I just tried to be solid," Miller said. "I went into every game just thinking of giving the guys a chance to win."
But Michigan State's season came to a sudden end on Thursday when Kevin Spiewak of North Dakota beat Miller on the first shot of their semifinal game at Pepsi Arena and the defending champion Fighting Sioux held on for a 2-0 victory.
"I'm thinking of this as separate," said Miller, a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres. "I'm disappointed with what happened yesterday. I thought we had a lot of things going right this year. We could have been there at the end."
The 60 Division I coaches select the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker, and that list of players is given to a selection committee of 24 comprised of media, NHL scouts, college coaches, and supervisors of officials. This year, a vote conducted on-line allowed college hockey fans a one percent vote in each round of balloting.
Also honored Friday was University of Nebraska-Omaha's Jason Cupp, who received the Humanitarian Award. It has been given in each of the last six years to college hockey's "finest citizen."
Cupp, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, developed a program called "Scoring for Kids," which raises money for disadvantaged kids in Omaha.