University of Wisconsin junior goaltender Brian Elliott has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the best player in hockey. Elliott led the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in WCHA games. He was named to the All-WCHA second-team, which was announced Thursday. He leads the country in winning percentage (.810), 22 wins and a 1.68 goals-against average. He has been named the WCHA defensive player of the week five times this season.
Senior defenseman Tom Gilbert was named to the conference’s first team while sophomore forward Joe Pavelski joined Elliott on the second team.
Gilbert became the first UW defenseman since Jeff Dessner to earn first-team honors. He led the Badgers to a league-best 1.95 goals-against average in all games. He also is tied for first on the team with a plus-24 and is tied for the lead in the country among defensemen with 11 goals.
Pavelski finished with 39 points in 28 league games, fourth in the conference. He is the first Badger since Dany Heatley (2000-01) to finish in the top five in scoring. He led the Badgers in scoring overall with his 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists). He is putting down an average of 1.30 points per game.
Elliott, Gilbert, junior forward Nick Licari, junior defenseman Matt Olinger and sophomore forward Matt Ford all made the WCHA All-Academic team.