Mid-Season Awards: Er... Well... All The Rest

So what happens when you run a hockey blog and promise to post six mid-season awards, then begin a string of 60-80 hour work weeks?

You feel guilty for not getting them done and end up trying to force yourself to write them at 8:45 AM on New Year's Day. Then you fall asleep again.

So here is my marathon mid-season awards post where I'll attempt to write the remaining four before the puck drops on the next Falcon game.

So, to get started, a run-down of the previously named awards:

Freshman of the Year: Jordan Samuels-Thomas
Runner-up: Ian Ruel

Most-Improved Player: Tommy Dee
Runner-up: Tomas Petruska

Now, moving on to the remaining awards. The explanations in this post will be much shorter, due to the obvious time constraints.

First up, we have the award for:

Offensive MVP

My pick for Offensive MVP is Tommy Dee. Obviously any of the top three or four Falcon scorers could have been chosen for this one. Each of them have contributed a lot on the offensive side of the puck, but Tommy Dee has impressed me the most with his overall effort, work ethic, and character.

For those unaware, Dee has six goals and five assists for a total of 11 points. He also plays a very disciplined game, having spent only eight minutes in the penalty box through 18 games this season. His leadership and hard work on the ice have been a key for the Falcons.

Runner-up: Jordan Samuels-Thomas

Defensive MVP

The FHH Mid-Season Defensive MVP is Kyle Page. Page has been an incredible asset to this team since he first suited up for BGSU. Despite his relative lack of size when compared to his opponents, Page has been able to exert his will on the ice. He plays much bigger than his 5'10", 189lb frame and has more heart than just about any player you'll see.

Looking at statistics, it's a mixed bag for the senior captain. Page is last on the team in terms of plus-minus rating, registering a -11. On the positive side, Page has blocked more shots than any other player on the team. In the 18 games thus far, he has stopped 34 shots from ever reaching the Falcon goaltender.

Runner-up: Ian Ruel

Flying Under the Radar

Even for me, the person who came up with it, this award is somewhat nebulous. As it's not based on specific offensive or defensive statistics and it's based as much on potential as anything else, it's truly the most wide-open award up for grabs in this exercise.

Pageau, Ruel and Rodriguez were all mentioned in reader comments, and all are worthy candidates for the award.

I'll be honest. I really don't have a winner for this one. I may have been a little bit hasty in adding it to the list. The main reason I even mentioned it was to give me an excuse to say this:

I think Wade Finegan has a ton of potential. He hasn't shown up much on the ice statistically, and my complete lack of hockey experience weighs against me pretty heavily, but there's something about his play that catches my eye when he's out on the ice.

He plays fast, he plays hard, and a lot of the time, he plays mean. The kid has a knack for contact and seems to come up with big emotion plays at key times, despite not seeing much ice time.

Call me crazy. That's just how I see it.

Runner-up: Nathan Pageau

And finally...:

Team MVP

While writing this post, I realized I should have named this player at least a runner-up for the Most Improved Player award.

Maybe this is a make-up call of sorts, but the FHH Team MVP is Nick Eno.

Eno has come a long way since he started here at BG. Held back by injuries, Eno had plenty of down moments last season. This season, though, he's beginning to show a renewed sense of stability.

After starting only 4 games, posting a 4.58 GAA and a save percentage of 80.5 last season, Eno's GAA this season is down to 3.14 (still higher than the Falcons and their fans would like it to be) and his save percentage is up to 90.1.

Yes, his record is 2-9. The wins haven't come yet, but thanks to Eno, the Falcons have been "in" just about every game this season right to the end. He has also showed incredible nerve in the Falcons' shootout contests.

Runner-up: Jordan Samuels-Thomas
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So that wraps up the first annual mid-season awards here at Falcon Hockey Hooligan. Hopefully it has been fun to read. I know I've enjoyed writing them, and I have definitely enjoyed the reader commentary. Feel free to continue to voice your opinions on all of these.

Finally, I'd love to be able to get a series preview together in time for the tournament, but there's just no way it's going to happen. I'll be working all weekend, so I'm going to have to take a pass on this one.

Fortunately, there's someone else out there who did their work ahead of time, and has a preview posted for your reading pleasure. Check out the tournament preview over at Bring Back the Glory.

I'm sad I won't get the chance snark on the Goofers and the Falcons' other potential opponents, but Drew's preview should point you to all of the important information you'll need.

Thanks for reading, happy new year, and here's to a great second half of Falcon hockey!