The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Flying high
Dexter's Ehn finalist for Hobey Baker Award
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2007
Dexter's Eric Ehn is flying high. A junior at the Air Force Academy, Ehn led the Falcons to a 19-16-5 overall record and a first-ever berth in the NCAA hockey tournament this past March.
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Ehn, 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, spearheaded Air Force's arrival on the national collegiate hockey scene, finishing second in the country in scoring with 24 goals and 40 assists for 64 points. Ehn led the nation in scoring for 14 of the season's 18 weeks. In an interesting twist, edging Ehn out for the national scoring title was a player who grew up less than an hour from Dexter, Howell's T.J. Hensick, a University of Michigan forward.
Ehn, a systems engineer management major, who sports a 3.0 grade point average, was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Player of the Year after leading the Falcons to the league championship. He was also named an American Hockey Coaches Association second-team All-American. He is the first player from a service academy ever to receive AHCA All-American honors.
He also was selected first-time All-American by U.S. College Hockey Online and by insidecollegehockey.com.
For his accomplishments on the ice this season, Ehn, a right-handed shooting center, was chosen as one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey's version of the Heisman Trophy. He is the first service academy player ever to be a Hobey Baker finalist. Though, North Dakota's Ryan Duncan won the award, Ehn said he was honored to be named a finalist.
"I actually never thought I could potentially win the award," he said. "Even as a kid, the goal was to play college hockey, not necessarily excel at it.
"I feel fortunate now to have the opportunity to compete for the award and privileged to have people in the media and other coaches believe that I would be a good candidate."
As the first player from the Air Force Academy selected a Hobey Baker finalist, Ehn, 23, said all the accolades wouldn't have been possible without his teammates.
"I have them to thank for this," he said. "They should take ownership in that."
While being a finalist for college hockey's top award was a feather in his cap, Ehn said his most memorable moment was on the ice at the NCAA West Regional against No. 2-ranked Minnesota in Denver March 24.
"It was everything I had hoped for and then some," he said of his NCAA tournament experience. "It was a pretty intense atmosphere and you could feel it on the ice. Although on the ice, the game was intense from the first drop of the puck. Every hit hurt. Every muscle was sore for days afterward. It is an amazing difference in intensity from the exhibition games in the beginning of the year, to the NCAA tournament.
"The games wear you out more, your shifts last 20 seconds shorter and everyone is playing their best. It's almost a different game."
The Falcons lost to Minnesota 4-3 bowing out of the tournament and ending their season.
Air Force's .538 winning percentage is the school's best since the 1989-90 season. Behind Ehn, the Falcons had a winning record for the first time in seven years. The team's 19 wins set a program record.
"This past season had its ups and downs just like any other, but it did have a really special feeling coming down the stretch," Ehn said. "As far as the impact that this season will have on Air Force hockey history, I'm not sure yet. But I know it was a season of many firsts at the D-I (Division I) level.
"Anytime a team not in one of the big four conferences makes the tournament, it is a big accomplishment for that school. We are proud to have brought that to the Academy."
Ehn said his development as a player has come from a lot of different places.
"Late in juniors I started studying film a little and at Air Force we study film every game," he said. "This helps in several ways, but most importantly it allows for players to better understand the systems that a team is using, how it is effective and where it can break down. This leads to smarter players that are more effective.
"Also, with modern weight training and game preparation it is easier to compete in every game during the year."
Ehn said his off-season work ethic was also important to preparing him for this past year.
"Aside from what every guy on the team is doing, it is necessary to identify weaknesses in your game and work to fix them," he said. "Last year, I had a ton of shots and no goals. So, this summer I shot over 500 pucks per week. This year I felt a lot more confident when taking shots and that along with other small incremental improvements can yield huge dividends."
As for his future on the ice, Ehn doesn't exactly know where he'll end up.
"I am not sure what the next step is from here," he said. "I would love an opportunity to play at the professional level, but at the moment there are no offers, so that makes returning for my senior year an easy decision. Along with the fact that I have made a commitment to the Academy through completion and I fully intend to stick to that.
"As for after school, there are programs in the Air Force's structure that allow for athletes to pursue goals outside of the Air Force's immediate interests. Given the chance, I think I would make a run at a pro career, but there are so many obstacles between now and graduation, I think that those thoughts should be put on hold until they become clearer."
What is clear is Ehn's determination to conclude his collegiate career on a high note next season.
"I am a man of goals," he said. "I set goals for everything I do. I think the goal that I will put most of my effort toward, on a hockey level, is to take the Air Force hockey program back to the NCAA tournament. And this time, we don't want to be only an automatic bid. I would like to win the league and earn our spot.
"Beyond that, I think it's time that a team from one of the smaller two divisions earns their way in (NCAA tournament) regardless of how they finish in the league playoffs. This would require a team to be ranked inside the top 14 roughly. I think it can and will be done soon. I'd love to be a part of that."
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