Seriously. The consensus is centered around the other two thirds of the “Hobey Hat-Trick”. Most pundits are picking Denver’s Matt Carle, and Wisconsin’s Brian Elliott stock has certainly risen even more in the past few weeks. Most of the talk has centered around these two players, both of whom deserve the award.
But Collins has also continued to be one of the hottest players in College Hockey, recording a hat-trick today to lead BC into the NCAA finals. He’s now got 34 goals to go with 29 assists.
“Collins is an impact player, and he had a huge impact on the game tonight,” said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol.
“Chris has done it all year long,” said BC coach Jerry York, “He’s had a fabulous year for us.”
Coming out of nowhere has not helped (Collins had 29 total goals going into his senior campaign) but he’s made up for it this year. All those bad bounces and clanged posts have now turned into goals.
There’s a theory being tossed around the press area that Carle and Elliott may split votes from people that primarily follow the Western Leagues, while Collins will get a more unified Eastern vote.
I don’t think that’s the case, but you never know. All of these guys are worthy.
We’ll find out tomorrow. For now, it’s getting close to midnight and the USCHO crew still has some work to do. More from me tomorrow.
