LEWISTON, MAINE — Junior goaltender David Jacobson of St. Norbert College has been chosen by the nation's ice hockey coaches as the 2014 winner of the Sid Watson Award Award, symbolic of the nation's best Division III men's ice hockey player. The 5-9, 165-pound native of Janesville, Wisconsin, went 22-1-1 this year with a 1.24 GAA and a save percentage of .935. The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year was a prime reason St. Norbert advanced to this weekend's NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship in Lewiston, Maine. Jacobson and St. Norbert will meet Geneseo State at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Primarily due to the heroics of Jacobson, St. Norbert enjoyed a 13-game stretch from January 18 to March 8 in which they allowed more than one goal in only one game. This streak included seven shutouts and a team GAA of 0.69.
Jacobson first came to St. Norbert as a freshman in 2011-12. He started the season as a backup on a very young team that had graduated 11 seniors from the NCAA Championship team in 2011. In January of 2012, with the team sporting a record of 7-4-4, he took over the starting job and SNC went 14-1-1 on its way to back-to-back NCAA titles. David was rewarded as a second team All-American and as the 2012 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. He finished the year with 25 GP, 1.53 GAA and .936 save percentage.
As a sophomore, Jacobson played varsity soccer and led the team in scoring and shots on goal before returning to the hockey team for opening weekend. SNC won the playoff championship and lost to eventual 2013 NCAA Champion UWEau Claire. He was All-Conference and finished the year with 28 GP, 1.61 GAA and .931 save percentage. A first team All American this season, Jacobson sports career numbers of 1.47, .934, and 61-9-5.
The award is named in honor of former Bowdoin College head coach Sid Watson, a three-time winner of the Edward Jeremiah Award as Division III Coach of the Year. Watson won 326 at Bowdoin in a career that spanned from 1959 to 1983. He was also the school's athletic director.
The runner-up for the 2014 Sid Watson Award was Jackson Brewer, a junior forward from Trinity College and Newton, MA.
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