Monday, February 24, 2014

Stat Pack: Goal Oriented

A look at top goal scorers from BC, Maine and more this week.

Stat Pack: Goal Oriented
Johnny Gaudreau is on the verge of becoming the fifth player in the last five seasons to score 30 goals.

In our Stat Pack feature, College Hockey Inc. highlights five obscure but telling statistics from the world of college hockey.

1. Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J./Dubuque-USHL/CGY) scored twice this weekend, giving him 29 goals on the year. That total would have led the nation last season, and we’re not even in March yet. His next goal will make him the fifth player in the last five years to reach 30 goals in a season. Gaudreau isn’t alone in enjoying increased production this season, however:

2013-14
Top goal scorer: Johnny Gaudreau, 29
Team scoring average: 2.84 goals per game
16 players have 18 or more goals

2012-13, through Feb. 24
Top goal scorer: Greg Carey, 25
Team scoring average: 2.76 goals per game
6 players had 18 or more goals

2. Another Hockey East player, Maine defenseman Ben Hutton (Prescott, Ont./Nepean-CCHL/VAN), has impressed with his goal scoring, tying the school record for goals by a defenseman with 13. He is the seventh defenseman in the last five years to score at least 13 goals in a season (Justin Schultz did it twice):

Most Goals, Defensemen, Last 5 Seasons
18 – Justin Schultz, UW (2010-11)
16 – Justin Schultz, UW (2011-12)
16 – Garrett Noonan, BU (2011-12)
15 – Brendan Smith, UW (2009-10)
14 – Mike Boivin, CC (2012-13)
14 – Colby Cohen, BU (2009-10)
14 – Carl Hudson, Canisius (2009-10)
13 – Ben Hutton, Maine (2013-14)

3. This month alone nine teams have scored with the goaltender pulled in the final two minutes of regulation, with Army, Notre Dame and Ohio State each doing so twice. Here are the teams that have done that the most often this season:

Most Goals with Extra Attacker, Final 2 Minutes of Regulation
4 – Northeastern
4 – Vermont
3 – Princeton
3 – Providence
3 – Robert Morris

4. Looking at goaltender save percentages on Friday and Saturday nights, no goalie appears in the top 10 nationally both nights:

Best Save Percentage, Fridays
.945 – Zane Gothberg, North Dakota
.944 – Jimmy Sarjeant, Mercyhurst
.942 – Martin Ouellette, Maine
.941 – Clay Witt, Northeastern
.939 – Joel Rumpel, Wisconsin
.934 – Steven Summerhays, Notre Dame
.934 – Raphael Girard, Harvard
.932 – C.J. Motte, Ferris State
.931 – Thatcher Demko, Boston College
.931 – Brian Billett, Boston College

Best Save Percentage, Saturdays
.954 – Keegan Asmundson, Canisius
.950 – Sam Brittain, Denver
.946 – Jake Hildebrand, Michigan State
.945 – Connor Hellebuyck, UMass Lowell
.943 – Steve Michalek, Harvard
.943 – Chris Truehl, Air Force
.943 – Robby Nichols, UConn
.939 – Lukas Hafner, Western Michigan
.938 – Kevin Kapalka, Lake Superior State
.937 – Jon Gillies, Providence

5. Here’s a quick look at the top special teams performances since the Christmas break:

Best Power Play, Since Christmas
31.2% – Bentley
30.6% – Minnesota State
30.2% – St. Cloud State
29.9% – Boston College
28.0% – Alaska

Best Penalty Killing, Since Christmas
92.6% – Boston College
91.4% – Notre Dame
91.0% – Nebraska Omaha
91.0% – Quinnipiac
90.7% – Massachusetts