Thanks to those who voted, who split their votes (in more ways than one) to leave a close finish for both fake trophies. Seven players got Seventh Player votes; six got Fan Favorite nods.
The Seventh Player Award goes very closely to Jared Gomes, the utility guy who helped make the fourth line dangerous, who filled in elsewhere respectably when needed and who helped the penalty kill be an important factor in keeping the team in the playoff race. Matt Finn, who came back from the ECHL with a few huge goals and gave the power play a boost, and Colin Markison, who like Gomes did a lot of little things well, were close behind.
Fan Favorite wound up split (not least because I didn’t think to tell people not to split their votes) between mainstay Mike Halmo and newcomer Joe Whitney. Halmo, your 2014 Seventh Player, becomes the second Sound Tiger to win both awards: When the team actually gave them out itself, Trent Hunter was the 2001-02 Seventh Player and the 2002-03 Fan Favorite.
The Three Stars Award came down to the wire, and somewhat appropriately, perhaps, it came down to the playoff-clinching goal. Bracken Kearns‘ first-star nod Friday after he scored the winner vaulted him ahead of Alan Quine. It was the sixth time Kearns was named first star, one better than Taylor Beck. Quine had four first-star performances, three second stars and a couple of third stars. Joe Whitney in half a season had three firsts, three seconds and a third.
VOTING
FAN FAVORITE: Mike Halmo 3, Joe Whitney 3, Kevin Czuczman 1.5, Scott Mayfield 1.5, Alan Quine 1, Justin Vaive 1
SEVENTH PLAYER: Jared Gomes 3, Matt Finn 2, Colin Markison 2, Andrew Rowe 1, Tanner Fritz 1, Justin Florek 1, Connor Jones 1
Fake Team Awards History
Seventh Player
2006–Matt Koalska
2007–Jason Pitton
2008–Trevor Smith
2009–Tyler Haskins
2010–Jon Gleed
2011–Jeremy Colliton
2011 special–Trainer Mike Schroeder/Equipment manager Leni DiCostanzo
2012–Tony Romano
2013–Brandon DeFazio
2014–Mike Halmo
2015–Scooter Vaughan
2016–Jared Gomes
Fan Favorite
2006–Steve Regier
2007–Wade Dubielewicz
2008–Kip Brennan
2009–Pascal Morency
2010–Greg Mauldin
2011–Micheal Haley
2012–Micheal Haley
2013–Ty Wishart
2014–Justin Johnson
2015–Brett Gallant
2016–Joe Whitney/Mike Halmo (tie)
Three Stars Award
2006–Wade Dubielewicz
2007–Wade Dubielewicz
2008–Jeff Tambellini
2009–Nathan Lawson/Mike Iggulden (shared)
2010–Greg Mauldin
2011–Jeremy Colliton
2012–Kevin Poulin
2013–Nino Niederreiter
2014–Ryan Strome
2015–Kevin Poulin
2016–Bracken Kearns