Jim Slater Named Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist
3/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 17, 2004
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Michigan State junior forward and team captain Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.) was named one of the top 10 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists, as announced by The Hobey Baker selection committee at the CCHA Awards Banquet on Wednesday (March 17) at the Fox Theatre.
"This is quite an honor," said Slater. "I came to Michigan State for its hockey tradition and this award is one of the biggest individual honors that a player can receive. To be a part of this group is really nice. It's just a great honor to be placed in that category."
Joining Slater as the top 10 finalists are: Keith Ballard (Jr., D, Minnesota); Brandon Bochenski (Jr., F, North Dakota); Junior Lessard (Sr., F, Minnesota-Duluth); Yann Danis (Sr., G, Brown); Derek Edwardson (Sr., F, Miami); Zach Parise (So., F, North Dakota); Thomas Pock (Sr., D, UMass); Steve Saviano (Sr., F, New Hampshire); and Tony Voce (Sr., F, Boston College).
Slater's selection marks the seventh straight year that Michigan State has had a Hobey Baker Award finalist. Slater becomes MSU's 15th Hobey Baker finalist, joining Ron Scott (1982 and 1983); Kelly Miller (1985); Craig Simpson (1985); Mike Donnelly (1986); Kip Miller (1989 and 1990); Bobby Reynolds (1989); Bryan Smolinski (1993); Anson Carter (1995); Chad Alban (1998); Mike York (1998 and 1999); Shawn Horcoff (2000); Ryan Miller (2001 and 2002) and John-Michael Liles (2003). All told, the Spartans have had 18 Hobey Baker Finalists - the most of any school in the country. In addition, Kip Miller won the prestigious award in 1990 and Ryan Miller was the 2001 award recipient, becoming just the second goalie to win Hobey honors.
Slater earned All-CCHA First-Team honors in 2003 and 2004 to become the fourth straight Spartan to earn first-team all league honors in back-to-back seasons, joining Mike Weaver (1999 and 2000), Ryan Miller (2001 and 2002) and John-Michael Liles (2002 and 2003).
Slater paces MSU in scoring with 48 points on 19 goals and 29 assists. His 48 points lead the CCHA overall scoring race and puts him fifth in the nation.
He needs just two more points to reach the 50-point plateau. If he does, he would became the second straight Spartan (John-Michael Liles-50 points in 2002-03) to accomplish that feat. The last time MSU had back-to-back 50-point scorers was in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 when Mike York (54 points in 98-99) and Shawn Horcoff (65 points in 99-00) accomplished that feat.
He earned CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors three times (Oct. 27, Feb. 9 and Feb. 23) this year. In addition, he was named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for February, after tallying 2-9-11 points in six games, an average of 1.83 points-per-game. In addition, he had one game-winning goal and a +6 rating while leading the Spartans to a 5-1 record during the month.
Slater continues to roll for the Spartans as he has posted 4-11--15 totals over the course of the last 10 games - an average of 1.50 points-per-game. He tallied his fifth multiple-goal game of the season in Friday's 6-4 win over Ferris State, including the game-winning marker at the 8:24 mark of the third period. It marked his first multiple-goal game since Jan. 23 at Ohio State, a span of 12 contests. In Saturday's 5-3 victory, Slater picked up an assist on the team's third goal.
"Your captain has to be able to be a good player and lead by example," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "Jim brings his best to the rink every day. He is the epitome of what I look for in a captain and a player. He has done whatever is asked of him and even more."
A first-round draft choice (No. 30 overall) of the Atlanta Thrashers, Slater has played in 114 career contests, posting 48 goals and 76 assists for 124 points -- an average of 1.08 points-per-game.
The Hobey Hat Trick, the top three finalists, will be announced March 31. The award recipient will be announced on live telecast featuring all three finalists from the NCAA Frozen Four in Boston, Mass., on Friday, April 9, 2004.
College hockey fans also have the opportunity to cast their votes in helping determine this year's Hobey Baker Memorial Award recipient. From March 21-31, registered voters can cast one vote (per day) for their first, second and third choices in the final round of balloting. For more information, visit www.voteforhobey.com.
