Demko Tabbed a Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalist

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Boston College junior Thatcher Demko is among the 10 finalists for the 2016 Hobey Baker Award and one of two goaltenders up for college hockey's most prestigious individual award.

The other nine finalists include JT Compher (Michigan), Kyle Connor (Michigan), Zac Lynch (Robert Morris), Alex Lyon (Yale), Tyler Motte (Michigan), Alex Petan (Michigan Tech), Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire), Ethan Prow (St. Cloud State) and Jimmy Vesey (Harvard).

The ten finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I college hockey head coaches and by online fan balloting. Next, the 27-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHobey/ or the Hobey website atwww.hobeybakeraward.com from March 17-27 will determine this year's Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.

Demko is in the midst of turning in one of the all-time season for a Boston College goaltender.

Already surpassing the school records for shutouts in a season with 10, the San Diego native is two blankings away from tying Cory Schneider's (2004-07) benchmark of 15 for the career record.

His 10 shutouts is the second most in college hockey history for a season, tying David McKee (Cornell – 2005) and Ryan Miller (Michigan State – 2001). Demko is two shutouts away from matching Greg Gardner's (Niagara) record of 12 set in 2000 for the all-time mark in a college hockey season.

The second-round draft pick of Vancouver is currently tied for the nation's lead (with fellow Hobey candidate Alex Lyon) with a .938 save percentage. Demko is also third in all of college hockey with a 1.78 goals against average and fourth in winning percentage (.771) with a 25-6-4 mark.

In Hockey East conference play, Demko's five shutouts are tied for second most in a single-season with UNH's Casey DeSmith (2012-13) and BU's John Curry (2006-07). His .938 save percentage in league play is tied for seventh best in a single season with Merrimack's Rasmus Tirronen (2014-15), NU's Clay Witt (2013-14) and none other than his current goaltending coach at BC, Mike Ayers.

At the onset of the season, Demko matched history after posting six shutouts in seven starts (Oct. 16 - Nov. 8, 2015), stringing together a pair of three-game shutout streaks. Demko's historic run tied Blaine Lacher of Lake Superior State for posting six shutouts in seven games, marking only the second time in the history of college hockey something of that magnitude has been achieved. The 6-foot-4 goaltender's first shutout streak started in the third period at Rensselaer on Oct. 11, 2015, where he played shutout hockey for 206 minutes and two seconds (206:02), denoting the 20th-longest stretch of zero goals allowed in the history of the game. Demko's second run started in the third period of the Denver contest on Oct. 30 and spanned to the second period against Michigan State, surpassing his previous total and posting another 208 minutes and 36 seconds (208:36) of scoreless hockey. That mark is the 17th-best stretch in the history of the game. Demko's scoreless string of 208:36 is third longest in school history behind Scott Clemmensen (254:23 – Jan. 9-24, 1998) and Cory Schneider (242:19 – Jan. 13-27, 2006).

For a career, Demko is 60-24-10 (.691) with a 2.05 goals against average and a .928 save percentage (2,514 saves on 2,708 shots).

Demko looks to become Boston College's fourth Hobey Baker winner, joining David Emma (1991), Mike Mottau (2001) and Johnny Gaudreau (2014).

The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 31, 2016 and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday, April 8, 2016 from Tampa, FL during the NCAA Frozen Four. The award announcement will take place at the historic Tampa Theatre, built in 1926 as one of America's most elaborate movie palaces. The announcement will be televised live on the NHL Network and can be followed on the Hobey Baker website at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Hobey Notes
- Nominees by conference: Big 10 – 3, ECAC – 2, Hockey East – 2, NCHC – 1, AHA - 1, WCHA – 1

- By class: Senior 4, Junior 4, Sophomore 1, Freshman 1

- By position: Forward 7, Defense 1, Goalie 2

- By nationality: U.S. - 9 (2 each: Michigan, Minnesota; 1 each: Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, California), Canada - 1 (British Columbia)

- Jimmy Vesey is the only repeat finalist from 2015 (Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists)

- For the first time in Hobey Baker history (36 years) an entire line has been nominated as top ten finalists (Compher, Connor, Motte)

- This is the fourth time a single school has had three finalists, Michigan – other occasions were 1987 Boston College, 1994 Michigan, 2000 Boston College

- Four schools have a finalist for the second straight year: Harvard, Michigan, Robert Morris, Michigan Tech - all six college hockey conferences are represented

Demko Tabbed a Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalist

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