I’ll be exploring this topic in further detail this week, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling.
Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman has five wins in his first five Western Collegiate Hockey Association starts. He got his fourth and fifth wins against Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Alex Stalock, who was Bachman’s predecessor in net for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders (United States Hockey League).
Turns out Cedar Rapids has been a bit of a WCHA goaltender factory. I decided to compare Bachman’s statistics in his first five starts to those of other Cedar Rapids goaltenders who have ended up in the WCHA, including Stalock, Minnesota State-Mankato’s Dan Tormey and St. Cloud State’s Bobby Goepfert.
First five WCHA starts
Bachman: .962 save percentage, 1.19 goals against average, 5-0 record
Stalock: .880 save percentage, 3.00 goals against average, 1-3-1
Tormey: .910 save percentage, 2.20 goals against average, 2-1-2
Goepfert*: .910 save percentage, 2.80 goals against average, 1-3-1
*first five WCHA starts came as a junior, played for two seasons at Providence before transferring to SCSU
Anyway, I know it’s a little strange to be digging around in these stats, but I just wanted to prove to myself that what Bachman has done so far isn’t normal. Sure, he’s a 20-year-old freshman (three days older than Stalock, actually), but adjusting to the league is a tough task. No question Wisconsin will be a test with Kyle Turris up front. It’ll be exciting to see how Bachman squares off against Shane Connelly, who stood on his head last Friday to shut out North Dakota.
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Recruiting Roundup:
- Andrew Hamburg (2008) seems to have hit his stride in St. Louis, chipping in five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in two games this weekend. The Bandits have a 16-3 record in the North American Hockey League and will face the U.S. under-18 team this weekend.
- Nick Dineen (2008) scored two third-period goals to lead the U.S. Junior Select team to a 9-6 victory over Russia in the bronze-medal game. Dineen also had an assist and future CC teammate Tim Hall (2008) chipped in a goal. Summary here.
- In an interview with Illegal Curve blog, Weyburn Red Wings (another Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team) color commentator Brad McNeil had some high praise for Rylan Schwartz (2009), calling his offensive abilities “unreal.”
- Updated recruits’ stats here.
Tiger Tracks:
- Former CC goaltender Matt Zaba picked up his second professional win Saturday. Zaba made 26 saves in the 6-5 Charlotte Checkers win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves, who return to the ECHL after a two-season hiatus following Hurricane Katrina.
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s Atlanta Thrashers beat writer is still surprised that Brett Sterling couldn’t score in his first stint on the NHL level. Sterling, who has four goals in four games for the Chicago Wolves since his demotion from the Thrashers, led the American Hockey League in scoring as a rookie last season.
- Updated alumni stats here.
