March 5, 2008

Sean Backman and Tom Dignard, two sophomores on the Yale men's hockey team, have been named All-Ivy League for the 2007-08 season.

Backman, a forward and Yale's leading scorer with 17 goals and 25 points, earned first-team honors a year after being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Backman, the 2006-07 co-ECAC Rookie of the Year (18-13-31), is listed by the Hobey Baker Memorial website as a candidate for this year's award. Go to hobeybaker.com to vote for Backman, who is 12th in the nation and first in the conference with a .63 GPG average.

His 17 goals are third in the ECAC. He has points in 16 of his last 22 games and goals in 12 of 20. The Cos Cob, Conn., native has 35 goals in 56 career games and is trying to become Yale's first Hobey finalist since Chris Higgins in 2003.

Dignard, a defenseman with three goals and 15 points, was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection this year. He has points in six of the last seven games and is ranked 10th among ECAC blueliners with .52 points per game.

The Bulldogs are home this weekend for a best-of-three conference playoff series with Rensselaer that begins Friday at 7 p.m.

Men's Ice Hockey 2007-08 All-Ivy

First Team

F - *Lee Jubinville, Princeton (Jr., Edmonton, Alberta)

F - Nick Johnson, Dartmouth (Sr., Calgary, Alberta)

F - Sean Backman, Yale (So., Cos Cob, Conn.)

D - *Mike Moore, Princeton (Sr., Calgary, Alberta)

D - Sean Hurley, Brown (Sr., Rutland, Vt.)

G - Kyle Richter, Harvard (So., Calgary, Alberta)

Second Team

F - Colin Greening, Cornell (So., St. John's, Newfoundland)

F - Brett Wilson, Princeton (Calgary, Alberta)

F - Riley Nash, Cornell (Fr., Kamloops, British Columbia)

F - Mike Taylor, Harvard (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.)

D - Evan Stephens, Dartmouth (Fr., Bessemer, Mich.)

D - Dave MacDonald, Harvard (Sr., Halifax, Nova Scotia)

G - Zane Kalemba, Princeton (So., Saddle Brook, N.J.)

Honorable Mention

F - Topher Scott, Cornell (Sr., Buffalo Grove, Ill.)

F - Ryan Garbutt, Brown (Jr., Winnipeg, Manitoba)D - Tom Dignard, Yale (So., Reading, Mass.)

D - Alex Biega, Harvard (So., Montreal, Quebec)

G - Ben Scrivens, Cornell (So., Spruce Grove, Alberta)

Player of the Year

Lee Jubinville, Princeton (So., Edmonton, Alb.)

Rookie of the Year

Riley Nash, Cornell (Fr., Kamloops, British Columbia)

* = unanimous selection