Ice Hawks rolling after four-game showcase sweep

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Last Updated on Thursday, 18 October 2012 15:54

By Nick Clark
MnJHL Director of Media Relations

The numbers didn’t catch Rochester Ice Hawks head coach Nick Fatis off guard. Not one bit.

Then again, he’s had a first-person perspective of watching his goaltenders help calm the one area where Rochester was a bit chaotic a year ago.

Consistency in net was an issue the Ice Hawks battled throughout what was a winter that still produced both a runner-up finish in both the Minnesota Junior Hockey league regular season, and Bush Cup Finals.

But for an organization not accustomed to second-place finishes in any form, that wasn’t good enough. And a big reason was because the teams’ goaltending wasn’t either.

“Yeah, it’s a little better than what we saw last year,” said Fatis. “Last year, when it came down to it and we needed it in the playoffs, our goaltending came through. The problem was the consistency throughout the season was not there. That hasn’t been the case this year. Our goaltending has been superb so far.”

The most recent example of Rochester’s play in goal came in bunches when the Ice Hawks won all four of their games in the MnJHL Great Lakes Division Showcase by allowing five total goals in the four-game in four-day stretch.

Fatis said he wasn’t surprised by the weekend his netminders put in, mainly because it was just a continuation of what they had done in the three weeks leading up to their trip into Prairie Center, Wis.

Derek Moser (Tomah, Wis.) won the showcase opener by allowing just one goal in a 8-1 victory over the Illiana Blackbirds Oct. 4, Corey Grummick (Olympia, Wash.) recorded the victory in a 6-1 win against the Tri City Ice Hawks Oct. 5. Erik Johnson (Rice, Minn.) was the victor in an 11-1 victory over the Fort Wayne Federals Oct. 6. And Moser and Grummick split the final game, which was an 8-2 win over the Central Wisconsin Saints Oct. 7.

Moser upped his record to 3-1 on the year to go with a goals against average of 2.54 and a savers percentage of .901. Grummick is now 4-1 with a 1.63 goals against average and a .922 saves percentage, and Johnson is 1-0-1 in his two chances to play.

“They’ve been fun to watch, and it has really had an impact on the entire team,” Fatis said. “The way those guys have handled themselves, and how they’ve reacted when things haven’t gone well has had a real positive affect on the rest of the team.”

In return, the rest of the Ice Hawks have scored enough on the other end to alleviate some of the pressure the goaltenders might be otherwise feeling.

The Ice Hawks are averaging nearly six goals per game, and they have already outscored the opposition 63-26, which includes a whopping 30-5 edge Rochester holds in second period scoring.

The top line of Kenny Tencza (Naples, Fla.), Jake Zarzycki (Clinton Township, Mich.) and Austin Rust (Algonac, Mich.) has combined for 50 points in 11 games, Chris Williford (Ray, Mich.) has another 14 points himself, Brent Kallio (Escanaba, Mich.) has 13 points and Jarrett Pfeiffer (Ypsilanti, Mich.) already has seven goals, including at least one goal in each of the four showcase games Rochester won.

As a result, the Ice Hawks are once again off and running with a 8-1-2 start to their season.

“We have a real good group of guys here, and they have come into the season ready to go to work,” Fatis said. “We are real proud of them. We want to be the best, so we are pleased with the way the guys have played, but we know we have a long ways to go.”