LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four freshman goalies will take the ice before a packed T-Mobile Arena on Thursday for the semifinals of the Frozen Four, something so unusual that the NCAA can’t find another such instance.
The atmosphere could be daunting even for upperclassmen, but those goalies have been preparing a long time for such a moment, going back to their junior hockey days, and to call them freshmen in the classical sense would be misleading.
Be it in the high-level Canadian Hockey League — until recently its players were ineligible because the NCAA considered them professionals — or major youth leagues in the United States and Europe, goalies learn on the job from a young age.
“A lot of these young men have been put in spots that mirror the college game,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings, pointing specifically to his goaltender, Daniel Hauser. “He’s been in some pretty tough environments. He was brought into Calgary to try to make a run last year in the Western Hockey League. One reason I think they liked him as much as we did, he’s somebody that has performed well at the most important time.
“We had a game here against Michigan where we had 15,500 in the building. It’s an NHL environment. These have been a part of some of these opportunities before we get them.”
Hauser brings a 20-7-2 record into this week, with an .899 save percentage while allowing 2.56 goals per game. He and Wisconsin (23-12-2) play North Dakota (29-9-1) in the second semifinal.
Both teams are making their first appearances in quite some time. The Badgers last advanced to the Frozen Four in 2010 and their most recent title came in 2006. North Dakota is back for the first time since 2016, which also was when the Fighting Hawks raised their eighth banner.
North Dakota’s Jan Spunar (20-4-1, .917, 1.90) recorded a nation-leading six shutouts, and in the Sioux Falls Regional, he made 53 saves while blanking Merrimack and Quinnipiac.
Spunar prepped himself by playing three seasons of junior hockey that included two years in Portland, Oregon, and the other in Dubuque, Iowa.
“He had a lot of hockey under his belt,” North Dakota coach Dane Jackson said. “So I think the high-level competition and the big moments have not seemed to faze him at all.”
Spunar pointed out that calling the goalies freshmen is playing loose with the term. They are first-year college players, but all are in their 20s.
“You get to play against the good players in the CHL, like all the top draft picks,” Spunar said. “Some of the guys are older than classic freshmen. We are freshmen but … .”
In the other semifinal, between Michigan (31-7-1) and Denver (27-11-3), both goalies began the season on the bench but found themselves manning the crease because of injuries.
And neither has been beaten in regulation.
The Wolverines replaced one freshman with another. Jack Ivankovic (25-7-1, .923, 2.13) was the starter before Stephen Peck (6-0, .911, 2.61) was forced into action.
Denver brings in a goalie, Johnny Hicks, who grabbed the starting job on Jan. 24. All Hicks did was go 14-0-1 and top the nation with a .958 save percentage and 1.12 GAA.
“It was a precarious situation that he came into,” Pioneers coach David Carle said. “Obviously, we have all the confidence in him, but to come in the moment, to be unfazed, to be the calmest person in the room, I think speaks to his preparation and his focus and his attention to detail. Certainly, he’s been excellent for us on the stretch run.”
Hockey almost has been the easy part for Hicks, at least compared with adjusting to the lifestyle of being a college student.
“I feel like a freshman still,” Hicks said. “The team’s made me feel so welcome and everyone’s treated the same here. It feels like everyone’s just one big family and it feels really nice.”
Denver seeks its second championship in three years and hopes to add to its record haul of 10 national titles. Michigan also is no stranger to this stage, making its fourth trip in five years, but the Wolverines haven’t won it all since 1998. Maybe Peck will help them take that final step.
“(Players) know the last time Michigan’s won it,” Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato said. “They know how special it would be if we do win it. We’re definitely not happy to be there. We have a job to do, and we’re trying to get to Saturday.”
___
AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl