The case for Cody Reichard

I know, I know - Cam Pike is a BC boy through and through (and always will be). But in lieu of there being any viable BC candidate (Brian Gibbons could play himself into the dark horse picture if he continues to light it up over the next 8 games - but I digress) I present to you my candidate for Hobey Baker 2010. Cody Reichard.

For those of you looking for the flashy name (Rhett Rakhshani of Denver - seriously, is there a better name in college hockey today), the pedigree (Wisconsin boys Blake Geoffrion & Brendan Smith), or the veteran (Marc Cheverie of Denver or Ben Scrivens or Cornell) need to go somewhere else. Cody Reichard is your man.

Before you ask, no Mrs. Pike did not put me up to this and no this is not a sympathy vote because he was in net for one of the most heartbreaking hockey losses I have ever seen in person. Yes, Reichard plays for Miami University (the school many outside of hockey refer to as Miami of Ohio) and yes since I met Mrs. Pike they have found a little spot in this Boston sports heart of mine but that is not why I am lobbying for Reichard. He has been the best player for the best team in college hockey this year. Period.

Reichard leads the nation in goals against (nearly 0.6 better than second place Cheverie), save percentage, winning percentage, and is one win behind Cheverie and Bemidji's Dan Bakala (tied for second) having played 3 less games. He has 5 shut-outs on the season to go along with his goals against that has bailed his team out in several games this season as Miami has surprisingly struggled to find the back of the net consistently. Not to mention the fact that he has done this after suffering that catastrophic ending to last season (I think this is a mental accomplishment that should not be ignored in this case).

The detractors will say that Miami has one of the top defensive corps in the country so his workload isn't as high. The other thing that may hurt his candidacy is the fact that he splits much of his time in net with fellow super-soph Connor Knapp. But Knapp's numbers, while impressive, are not as jaw-dropping as Reichard's are. Much like last year, I expect Enrico Blasi to ride Reichard for the post-season as he is the #1 goaltender for the Redhawks. And one cannot ignore the results on the ice for the #1 team in the nation.

But he won't win. Insidecollegehockey.com doesn't even have him on their Hobey Tracker page. What will do him in is the fact that Miami has completely rolled the CCHA. They have lost one game to a CCHA opponent all year. When measured against the level of play that Marc Cheverie sees night after night in the WCHA, the comparison just does not match up. Add in the splitting time with Knapp and Reichard simply will not have the juice to win. In a season where no one has truly made themselves a candidate above and beyond the crowd as in years past (the Kevin Porter -Nathan Gerbe debate may still rage on but the fact is no one thought someone other than those two would win the award that year). This season the Hobey is truly up for grabs. I don't have an official vote but my support is still behind Reichard.

Tides turning

After a year that saw the Lakers, BU Terriers, and Yankees all win championships, so far 2010 has had a much nicer feel to it. First the US world junior hockey team beats a heavily favored Canadian team for the gold. Then Peyton Manning throws a choking interception and loses the Super Bowl to the Saints. And not BC has won the Beanpot. I'm not going to go crowning anyone else yet but I have to admit this is a pretty good start only a little more than one month into the year.

Congrats to the Eagles, by the way, on a quality win against a very tough opponent. BU is definitely coming around and last night was a true battle between two top college hockey teams. The Terriers still have a lot of work to do if they want to see the NCAA tourney, but I won't rule them out just yet. A sweep of Maine this weekend would go a long way to bringing them back as they would pass .500 for the first time all season. But a sweep by Maine will probably mean they need to win the Hockey East tourney to get in as remaining games against Providence, Vermont, and Northeastern will not have the Pairwise juice to get them there. This was a vital game for both teams and they both played like it. BC showed great poise and toughness to withstand the BU charge and hold on for the victory.

Congrats to John Muse. After having a tough off-season, including having another goaltender brought in because there was fear he would not be ready for the start of the season, Muse has righted the ship and looks very solid in net for the Eagles as they begin the stretch run. Muse had not allowed more than two goals in a game since the last time he faced BU at Fenway and had only allowed 6 goals total in his previous 5 starts. Play like that wins trophies as he cleaned up with three of them last night.

Congrats to Chris Kreider. The freshman phenom has started to come out of his slow start and picked up his 5th goal in his last 5 games, this one of the highlight reel variety. So good in fact that it was #1 on ESPN's Top Plays last night. Well done Chris - now just keep the momentum going.

At a loss

Mrs. Pike scored tickets to the Bruins game last night as they attempted to put an and to their eight game losing streak. I was finally able to wear my Winter Classic Neely jersey to a game and was enjoying some great seats (not far from Barry Peterson, Mike Milbury, and the lovely Kathryn Tappen and the NESN broadcast crew on the loge level) and an early 2-0 lead. The Canadiens of course came back and tied the score late in the second despite being ridiculously outplayed for the majority of the first two periods.

After nothing was settled through overtime or the first two rounds of the shoot-out, Brian Gionta steps to the center dot preparing for his shoot-out attempt. Not sure what I was thinking as I put my head down and said, "Please Brian, remember all the nice things that happened to you in this building (Fleetcenter/TD Banknorth Garden/TD Bank Garden)." Of course I was thinking about Beanpots and Hockey East titles - things that make me happy. Unfortunately, he was thinking about things that make him happy and decided it would be a good time to make another nice memory. At the Bruins expense. Savard's subsequent try was stopped by Halak. End of game. Loss number 9.

I'm starting to think I cursed the Bruins by saying a few weeks ago in this space that they would make the playoffs...