Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Dave O’Brien announced Wednesday that Boston University goaltender John Curry is the winner of the 55th Walter Brown Award, the nation’s oldest college hockey honor.
Presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, a team coached by Brown to America’s first world championship in ice hockey. Criteria for the selection committee include leadership, character, sportsmanship, and ability as well as on-ice achievement. The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has been steward of the Walter Brown Award since 1977.
Curry, a Terrier senior from Shorewood, Minn., ranks third in the nation with a 1.92 goals-against average and leads the country in shutouts with seven. His save percentage of .931 places him second in the country in that category. He posted a 17-9-8 record in backstopping Boston University to a third-place regular season finish in Hockey East.
Curry, Boston University’s all-time leader in goals-against average with 2.05 and in save percentage with .924, was a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award in both his sophomore and junior years.
Curry edged out Quinnipiac senior defenseman Reid Cashman and New Hampshire junior goaltender Kevin Regan in the final balloting. Cashman finished the season as the nation’s highest-scoring rearguard, collecting three goals and 38 assists. The Red Wing, Minn., resident led the Bobcats to a fifth seed in the ECACHL and playoff upsets of fourth-seeded Cornell and first-place St. Lawrence. Also a Walter Brown Award semifinalist in 2006, Cashman ended his collegiate career with 148 points.
Regan’s stout netminding was a primary reason that the Wildcats, picked to finish fourth in Hockey East, emerged as the circuit’s pennant winner. The South Boston, Mass., native is currently the national leader in save percentage with .936, and fifth in the country in goals-against average with a 2.06 mark. He posted a 24-8-2 record for the year.
“Once again, we had a superb field of semifinalist candidates for the Walter Brown Award. This was no surprise, because it was a tremendously competitive and defense-oriented year in both Hockey East and the ECACHL,” said selection committee chairman Tim Costello.
Curry will receive the 2007 Walter Brown Award at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner on Wednesday, April 11 in Saugus, Mass.
Walter Brown Award Winners
1953 Ray Picard, Northeastern
1954 Bob Babine, Boston College
1955 Bill Cleary, Harvard
1956 R.J. Cavanaugh, Northeastern
1957 Bob Cleary, Harvard
1958 Bob Cleary, Harvard
1959 Mike Karin, Middlebury
1960 Art Chisholm, Northeastern
1961 Tom Martin, Boston College
1962 Dave Grannis, Harvard
1963 Bill Hogan, Boston College
1964 Richie Green, Boston University
1965 Bob Gaudreau, Brown
1966 John Cunniff, Boston College
1967 Jerry York, Boston College
1968 Tim Sheehy, Boston College
1969 Paul Hurley, Boston College
1970 Tim Sheehy , Boston College
1971 Joe Cavanagh, Harvard
1972 Bob McManama, Harvard
1973 Tom Mellor, Boston College
1974 Ed Walsh, Boston University
1975 Ron Wilson, Providence
1976 Richie Smith, Boston College
1977 Bob Miller, New Hampshire
1978 Joe Mullen, Boston College
1979 Ralph Cox, New Hampshire
1980 Bill Army, Boston College
1981 Mark Switaj, Boston College
1982 Chuck Marshall, Northeastern
1983 Mark Fusco, Harvard
1984 Cleon Daskalakis, Boston University
1985 Tim Army, Providence
1986 Scott Fusco, Harvard; Scott Harlow, Boston College
1987 Brian Leetch, Boston College
1988 Mike McHugh, Maine
1989 Lane MacDonald Harvard
1990 Greg Brown, Boston College
1991 Dave Emma, Boston College
1992 Rob Gaudreau, Providence
1993 Dave Sacco, Boston University
1994 Jacques Joubert, Boston University
1995 Mike Grier, Boston University
1996 Jay Pandolfo, Boston University
1997 Chris Drury, Boston University
1998 Chris Drury, Boston University
1999 Mike Mottau, Boston College; Mike Omicioli, Providence
2000 Mike Mottau, Boston College
2001 Ty Conklin, New Hampshire; Brian Gionta, Boston College
2002 Jim Fahey, Northeastern
2003 Mike Ayers, New Hampshire
2004 Steve Saviano, New Hampshire
2005 Dov Grumet-Morris Harvard
2006 Chris Collins, Boston College
2007 John Curry, Boston University,
