Aurora’s Galajda, Sikura named to Hobey Baker final list

March 21, 2018 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

A pair of Aurora natives may just be the top collegiate hockey players in North America.
Cornell goaltender Matthew Galajda, an ex-netminder with the St. Andrew’s College varsity squad, was a pleasant surprise for the Big Red this season in his freshman year.
Eyeing the NCAA’s top prize for the first time since NHLer Ryan Miller won the Hobey Baker Award in 2001, Galajda recorded the best save percentage in the NCAA in six seasons this year with a stellar .940.
“I did not know what to expect coming in but I would not have expected this,” said the 20-year old Galajda, who was passed over in his NHL draft year.
“I played with an edge, and a chip on my shoulder.”
Coming off being named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year just last week, Galajda led the Big Red to their first division title in 13 years, and a date with Princeton in Friday’s ECAC semifinal in New York.
The first freshman goaltender ever to be shortlisted for the Hobey Baker, Galajda’s nine shutouts led the league while posting consecutive shutouts three times.
An alumni of two seasons with the St. Andrew’s Saints, the six-foot goaltender also cut his teeth with the minor Aurora Tigers.
He won the CISAA championship with the Saints in both 2014 and 2015.
Galajda joins fellow Auroran, and recent Spengler Cup gold medalist, Dylan Sikura in the top ten.
An alumnus of a three-year tenure with the junior A Tigers, the 22-year old centreman sits third in the nation in scoring as a senior at Northeastern University.
The Chicago Blackhawks prospect has put up 21 goals and 32 assists in 34 games this season, helping the Division I school to the number-three seed in the NCAA’s Northeast region.

This year’s Hobey Baker winner will be announced on April 6.