A possible Frozen Four first: All 4 starting goalies are freshmen
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.