Freshmen Netminders Put the Heat on Veteran Clark
Men's Hockey Preview
by Brad Wheeler
October 14, 2005
The biggest key for the Mavericks to have success is getting consistent goaltending. Junior Chris Clark returns to the squad along with two freshmen in Dan Tormey and Mike Zacharias.
“We help each other out when we see things,” Clark said. “If you’re not playing you can still help the guy out who’s in there.”
Right now there isn’t a No.1 goalie and the job is available for the taking. When MSU goes on the road, only two goalies travel with the team — so figuring out which two to bring is a big factor before getting on the bus.
“All of our goalies have looked really good in practice,” Jutting said. “We need to see how they all look in games.”
Jutting says all three goalies will get a chance at the beginning of the season. At this point any one of the three could be MSU’s No. 1 goalie.
Chris Clark
The junior from San Mateo, Calif., saw a lot more action toward the end of last year. He started in seven of the Mavericks’ last 11 games. Clark was named MSU’s most improved player at the end-of-the-season banquet.
“He wants to win as bad as anyone I’ve ever played with. He’s very competitive,” Backes said.
Clark’s been through this before as he competed with Jon Volp and Kyle Nixon last year for the starting job throughout the season. Clark says it’s a healthy competition for the job and each goalie pushes the other.
“If you’re sitting there in practice and you see a guy stop every puck, you want to get in there and one-up him,” Clark says.
Clark recorded his first career shutout last year in his first start of the season. He had a career-high 43 saves in a tie with Miami and then followed that up with 40 saves when MSU tied Colorado College. He finished the year 6-6-4 with a .892 save percentage. Clark started for MSU versus Alberta in Friday night’s exhibition game and faced 10 shots, allowing one rebound goal on an Alberta power play.
“If you’re playing good, you’ll be in the lineup,” Clark said. “I think to be successful you need two goalies playing well because it’s tough to ride just one the whole year.”
Dan Tormey
Listed at 6-2 and 195 lbs. Tormey is a big goalie to get a puck through. He’s upright in the net, covers a lot of ground and is a player Jutting says plays his angles well.
“He’s a giant in the net,” Backes said. “He’s always where he’s supposed to be and he’s very confident.”
From Syracuse, N.Y. Tormey played with Cedar Rapids (USHL) and won the regular season league title for his squad in the 2004-05 season. He led the USHL with a save percentage of .926 and was second with a 2.25 goals against average. Tormey played in the third period against Alberta and faced eight shots and allowed one power play goal.
Mike Zacharias
Zacharias happened to be the unfortunate goalie in net in the second period against Alberta. He gave up a fluke goal but also faced multiple odd-man rushes and even a two on 0 breakaway. He faced eight shots, seven of which were quality shots and made five saves.
“He’s quite athletic and flashy,” Jutting said.
Zacharias played for Tri-City (USHL) last year and was named Most Valuable Player. The Plymouth, Minn. native ranked second in wins and saves in the USHL and finished with a record of 27-17-3.
“He has great speed,” Clark said. “The way he moves his whole body is very fast and quick in the net.”
The three will continue to battle for the starting job. But how long it will take for one to establish himself is the question. One thing’s for sure — all three bring different aspects to the net and whoever is in goal will need the defense’s help to be competitive against the powerful offenses of the WCHA.
“On any given night anyone of those three could be the best goaltender in the league,” Backes said.
Expectations are high and now it’s time to play.
Two Minutes in the Box with Troy Jutting
Brad Wheeler: Who is your most underrated player?
Troy Jutting: Kyle Peto
BW: What does this team have to do to get back to the Final Five?
TJ: Get great goaltending and scoring goals when we get chances. We need to take advantage of opportunities.
BW: Which one of your freshmen can have an immediate impact?
TJ: Mick Berge or one of our two freshmen goalies.
BW: What is the biggest improvement you need to make to be consistent every time you take the ice?
TJ: We need consistent goaltending and scoring on opportunities. I don’t know the last time the team who finished in 8th place outshot their opponents for the whole season.
BW: How much do you need your seniors to step up this year?
TJ: They’re extremely important to our success as a team. You win in this league with your older kids and their experience. Extremely Important.