JIMMY
SPRATT
Bowling Green
Jr . | G | Chesterfield, Mich.
Spratt was named Bowling Green's most improved player
in 2006-07.
Key Statistics: Spratt,
who played nearly twice as many games last season (31)
than he did during his freshman campaign (16), raised
his save percentage from .855 as a rookie to .886 in
2006-07 while lowering his goals against average from
4.35 to 3.64.
What He Does: At 6-1
and a shade under 185 pounds, Spratt is a hybrid of
sorts — a combination of a net-engulfing monolith
like Maine's Ben Bishop and an acrobatic garden gnome
like North Dakota's Philippe Lamoureux. Consistency
has been a problem for Spratt, a two-time United States
Hockey League all-star who backstopped Sioux City to
a second-place finish in the USHL playoffs in 2004-05.
In each of his first two seasons with the Falcons, he's
got out to abysmal starts, but his play improved dramatically
during the second half of the year.
The Bigger Picture: Josh Unice's decision
to play in the Ontario Hockey League instead of enrolling
at Bowling Green means the bulk of the Falcons' goaltening
burden again falls on Spratt's shoulders. Coach Scott
Paluch hopes that with the right mental approach and
two seasons of experience in tow, Spratt can avoid the
slow starts he's endured in the past and kick off the
year in mid-season form. From a technique standpoint,
Spratt can sometimes be too active in the crease.
The BGSU coaching staff has stressed to Spratt the importance
of limiting his movement and getting him to concentrate
on cutting off the angles and work on being bigger in
goal.
Bowling Green coach Scott Paluch
on Spratt: "There is an art of goaltending,
and there's so much mentally that goes into it. Consistency
is the biggest question mark in his quest to become
a top-notch goalie. He's got the ability. Our job is
to get him focused right from the start.”
