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by Phillip
Brents
Try its goaltenders. Few would argue the WCHL’s ability to coax and develop top caliber goaltending talent during its eight years of operation – several with NHL or international credits on their resumes. Pioneers who established the standards for others to follow included Sergei Naumov (San Diego), Jeff Ferguson (Fresno), Konstantin Simchuk (Tacoma) and David Goverde (Phoenix/Tacoma). A member of the Latvian national team during his five-year stay with the Gulls (1995-2000), Naumov still owns single season WCHL records for most victories (48, set in 1995-96) and shootout wins (10, twice -- 1995-96 and 1999-2000). Entering the 2002-03 season, he continued to own WCHL career records for most appearances (252), wins (188) and shutouts (10) He set the early standard for longest shutout streak at 129:06 (Feb. 9-14, 1997) and was a fixture between the pipes for San Diego’s string of three consecutive Taylor Cup championships. He finished with a career 3.26 GAA and .896 save percentage (his 6,784 saves lead all netminders to ever wear a San Diego uniform in the history of the sport in the city), earning two WCHL Outstanding Goaltender awards (1995-96 and 1996-97) and two Taylor Cup Finals Most Valuable Player awards (1995-96 and 1997-98). An original Falcon predating the existence of the WCHL, Ferguson (1995-2000) holds nearly every Fresno goaltending record. He ranks second to Naumov for all-time appearances (251) and wins (123) and still owns the league’s second-best single-season marks for saves (1,716) and shootout wins (nine), both set during the 1998-99 season. Simchuk interrupted Naumov’s string of WCHL Outstanding Goaltender awards in 1998-99 when he led the expansion Tacoma Sabercats to the Northern Division championship and a berth in the Taylor Cup Finals while also performing for the IHL Las Vegas Thunder. Playing in his first North American season, the 23-year-old Ukrainian native lowered the league GAA standard to 3.08 while posting a 33-11-1 mark. In a twist of irony, Simchuk later replaced Naumov in San Diego (2000-01). A fifth-round draft pick of the NHL Los Angeles Kings in 1990, Goverde went on to appear in five NHL games for the Kings from 1991-94. He played four seasons in Phoenix, helping the Mustangs win their only Taylor Cup championship during the 1999-2000 season en route to earning the Taylor Cup Finals MVP award with a 10-2 record, 2.32 GAA and .931 save percentage. After Phoenix ceased operations in 2000-01, Goverde took his class act to Tacoma, where he nearly helped the Sabercats reach the Taylor Cup Finals in their final season of operation in 2001-02 with a scintillating playoff run that ended in a deciding fifth game loss to the Northern Division Idaho Steelheads. Now with the Orlando Seals of the new ACHL, Goverde ended his five-year stay in the WCHL ranked among goaltending leaders in appearances (third, 235) wins (third, 103) and shutouts (fourth, six). The WCHL’s next generation of goaltenders has raised those standards. On any given night, San Diego’s Trevor Koenig can win a game all by himself – which is fitting considering that his surname translates as “king” in German. A two-time WCHL Outstanding Goaltender and the league’s MVP in the 2001 WCHL-CHL All-Star Game, Koenig led the WCHL last season in wins (42), minutes played (3,693), saves (1,728), shootout wins (nine), shutouts (five) and save percentage (.913). He set league records for minutes played and saves while tying the league record for shutouts. The Edmonton native, who turns 28 on Dec. 10, also holds league records for appearances in one season (65), goals-against average (2.17), save percentage (.920) and longest consecutive shutout streak at 197 minutes, 13 seconds (set during the 2000-01 season). He owns the league’s top two save percentages for one season -- .920 in 2000-01 and .913 in 2001-02. His 42 wins rank second all-time among WCHL netminders. While Koenig can be phenomenal, he has a tendency to get a little too emotional for his own good at times. When on his game, however, he is virtually unbeatable and deserves all the accolades he receives. Idaho’s Blair Allison has also proven himself as a goaltending force in the WCHL after earning First Team All-American honors at the University of Maine. Besides San Diego’s Naumov and Koenig, he is the only other player in the league’s history to capture two Outstanding Goaltender awards. He owns four Taylor Cup Finals appearances with both Tacoma and Idaho, winning one Taylor Cup championship with the Sabercats in 1999 during which he was named the Taylor Cup Finals MVP with a minuscule 2.05 GAA, two shutouts and a .928 save percentage. Allison became the first WCHL ’tender to post a sub 3.00 regular season GAA (2.66) and helped Tacoma compile a league record 111 points in 1999-2000, setting new league records with five shutouts (a mark since tied by San Diego’s Koenig) and a 2.47 GAA in the process. A starter in WCHL/CHL All-Star game in 2000, Allison, 30, also has the ability to win games all by himself. Long Beach’s Mike Buzak has carved out a niche in the WCHL, specifically with the Ice Dogs for whom he also toiled in the now defunct IHL. Buzak shared the IHL’s 1997-98 Goaltender of the Year award with teammate Kay Whitmore after posting the league’s top GAA at 1.97 (fourth best all-time) with a career best six shutouts. (That same season Buzak appeared in eight WCHL games with the now defunct Tucson Gila Monsters and Phoenix.) The 29-year-old native of Edson, Alberta, led all WCHL netminders last season with a 2.39 GAA. He ranks second all-time in shootout percentage (.806), ahead of Simchuk (third at .810). Easily the most physically imposing goaltender in the WCHL at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Buzak clearly uses his size to his advantage (translation – he is always in position). What is more discouraging for an opposing forward than not to be able to see the net behind the goaltender? That attribute has won dividends for Buzak, who despite his large frame, does not seem to have a problem with low shots that goaltenders of his height frequently do. He also has quick glove hand (he catches left) on top of that. Koenig (2.17), Buzak (2.39) and Allison (2.47) rank first through third all-time in the WCHL record book for goals-against average for one season. Bidding to crack that elite gathering is Fresno’s Terry Friesen, who displayed his greatness by leading the Falcons to last season’s Taylor Cup championship with a knockout playoff run that included a 10-1-4 record, 2.32 GAA and .911 save percentage. The highest goaltender ever drafted by the NHL San Jose Sharks (third round in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft), the 25-year-old Manitoba native remains above average for the AA level and. His positional play is solid 98 percent of the time. If he could make that 99 percent of the time, he would be in the NHL with the Sharks. Friesen is one of those netminders who tempts the shooter with a gaping hole, only to fill it at the last second with a quick toe or glove. He also recovers well in a scramble. It is debatable if anyone else can flip himself back up on his skates from a prone position quite as quickly as he can. The Falcons’ second-half resurgence last season clearly attested – once again -- to the value of a hot goaltender. In this case, the puck stops in the WCHL. Mike Canady
contributed to this story. |
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