April 2, 2008
NCAA Frozen Four
INCH Measures Up North Dakota's J-P Lamoureux

By Jess Myers

Senior goaltender Jean Philippe Lamoureux was named to the all-Midwest Regional team for his heroics vs. Princeton and Wisconsin in Madison.

During last year's NCAA West Regional in Denver, an Inside College Hockey staffer in attendance at North Dakota's wins against Michigan and Minnesota noted that Fighting Sioux goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was a battler. Listed as 5-foot-8, the Grand Forks native never cedes control of the blue paint and never, ever gives up on a puck.

Sure, he's a scrapper, but Lamoureux is also one of the nation's elite goaltenders. He leads Division I backstops in goals against average (1.64), save percentage (.936), is tied for first in the country with six shutouts, and ranks tied for second in the land in wins (27).

The guy who puts the fight in the Fighting Sioux and one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award is a major reason North Dakota is making its fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance. In order to win the school's first national title since 2000, Lamoureux and Co. will have to conquer Boston College, the team that has knocked the Sioux in the semifinal round in both 2006 and 2007.

Inside College Hockey: What was the feeling on your team when you glanced at the scoreboard and realized you were down 2-0 with 20 minutes to play in Wisconsin’s building?

Jean-Philippe Lamoureux: The effort we got from Wisconsin wasn’t anything we weren’t expecting. From my standpoint, I just wanted to be solid and knew I’d have to make big saves because they always play us tough in the Kohl Center. I really didn’t ever hit the panic button and I never lost faith in my teammates. We’ve been down two or three goals before and the guys have come back, so there was never a time for panic. Going into the third period, this being my senior year, I wanted to make sure I left it all on the ice.

INCH: You claimed that you kind of “blacked out” when the overtime winner went in. What was the feeling?

JPL: It was incredible. That win was one of the more incredible wins I’ve been a part of because of the meaning of the game and the importance of advancing to the Frozen Four and coming back from a deficit, plus all the emotion and the effort we put in collectively to win that game. As soon as the goal scored, I probably speak for most of the guys on the bench that we kind of blacked out and went nuts for a little bit. It was so much fun, and I couldn’t be prouder of the character and will they showed in the game. Sioux fans will look back at that win for a long time. We were fortunate to come out with a win because it certainly could’ve gone the other way.

INCH Measures Up: Frozen Four Edition

Boston College's John Muse Notre Dame's Mark Van Guilder Michigan's Billy Sauer

INCH: When did you start playing hockey?

JPL: Hockey in my family is kind of a way of life. I have five brothers and sisters and they all play a high level of hockey. My sisters are attending Minnesota next year on scholarship. I have three other brothers – one is at Air Force, two others are playing juniors for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL.

My mom and dad introduced us to the game at an early age. I know they’ve got pictures of me with a rubber goalie stick that my grandma gave to me when I was born, and I had it in the crib. When I got older, as they do up here in the North, you start skating with your dad with a walker. For us in Grand Forks it was skating out on the (English) Coulee, and going to local elementary schools where they have open ice sheets. You can skate until they turn the lights out on you. As soon as the snow melted it was street hockey.

I can remember a Stanley Cup league we started with a few neighborhood kids and we’d play after school. We set up brackets and made awards for the MVP and the Vezina trophy for all of us. We definitely took it over the line, but it was so much fun for us growing up because we loved playing the game.

INCH: Your brother Jacques started at Northern Michigan, then transferred to Air Force. Interesting move.

JPL: He originally committed to go to Air Force but was denied entry into the academy. He accepted the scholarship to Northern Michigan and didn’t really like it so he reapplied to get back into the academy. He excels academically, and we have a good relationship with Frank Serratore. He was actually our next door neighbor when we were growing up and he was here at UND.

INCH: What was with all those shutouts at the start of the season? Did the puck seem bigger?

JPL: One thing that I changed this summer is I’d never had a goalie coach before, but I got to spend four days with Ian Clark, the Vancouver Canucks’ goalie coach. That’s been a big thing for me this year – the things I learned working with him over the summer. He gave me three or four things to keep in mind and work on over the season. From a team standpoint, we really had to set the tone early in the season because of how difficult our schedule was. The non-conference games are so important when setting yourself up for the national tournament. I really felt that being a veteran guy, I could be a big difference-maker early in the season. I almost prepared for the games like they were playoff games because the points are so crucial.

INCH: What were a few of the things Clark had you work on?

JPL: They’re probably obvious things for any goaltender, but the biggest thing for me that I try to be good at is puck retention. We worked on a few technical things on how to do that and positioning in the net, to better set myself up for success. It’s making the good initial save, and then being in position for a second save if there needs to be one. When you break it down, goaltending is pretty easy. All you have to do is stop the puck and control the rebound.

INCH: What is your favorite kind of save?

JPL: People always tell me I make flashy saves sometimes, but I really like to think of myself as a really good, sound positional goalie who makes saves look easy. The acrobatic saves are hallmarks of my game and things that really help me play well and be successful because I am able to make those saves.

INCH: Who’s the toughest opponent you’ve ever faced?

JPL: This whole rivalry started at an early age here in Grand Forks – Ryan Potulny. He’s a guy I grew up with, one of my best friends, and what’s odd is that we grew up really close but always seemed to be playing on opposite teams. The only years we played together were in Lincoln. We always had mutual respect for each other and whenever there were breakaways it was always 50-50. Either he was thinking one step ahead of me or I was thinking one step ahead of him. It was always a fun competition and when he ended up at Minnesota and I was at UND it just intensified.

INCH: How about in practice? Who’s the toughest guy you face on your own team?

JPL: For me, (T.J.) Oshie is tough to defend against. He’s got a very hard shot, it’s heavy, but at the same time he hits his spots extremely well, especially when he has open ice. His second effort is the best I’ve seen, and he never quits on a puck. He can be on his stomach and still make a great play.

INCH: You spent your first two seasons essentially backing up Jordan Parise. Was that frustrating, or a good learning experience?

JPL: It was a little bit of everything. Coming in I believed wholeheartedly that I could be a number one as a freshman, and Jordy and I battled for the majority of the first part of that season, then he kind of took over. It was frustrating at first, but in the long run it’s made me much hungrier and a much better goaltender. I also learned a lot from watching him as far as competing and winning big games.

Hopefully it will make me a better pro hockey player as well because you’re always going to run into competition. It helped me in the sense that I had to come to practice every day and find ways to get better. You have to find ways to improve because you’re not always going to play on the weekend and see how much better you got. You have to make use of the practice time.

INCH: Was it refreshing for a 5-8 guy to look across the ice in the season opener and see Jeff Lerg, knowing that you still don’t have to be a giant to have success in goal?

JPL: For sure. I have tons of respect for a guy like Jeff Lerg. We both had to go through some similar things to try and make it to this level. I’m always happy to see guys of smaller stature excel. A guy who had a huge impact on me as a young high school player and in junior was Karl Goehring, who played here. I actually worked out with him a lot in the summertime in high school and he had the same background as Jeff Lerg – very small goaltender, but also very successful. It’s what God gave me, so I try to use the skills I have.

INCH: Does it seem inevitable that if you’re going to the Frozen Four, you’re going to face Boston College again?

JPL: They’re a powerhouse and they’re kind of like us. They’re in the hunt every year whether they’re struggling early or peaking late. We’re always going to run into those guys, and that makes it fun. It’s great for the game of college hockey. The best team will win that night, and hopefully this year we’re a little better prepared and able to execute a little bit better than Boston College.

INCH: How about the idea of getting together with them the Wednesday night in Denver and playing the last 20 minutes of that 0-0 game from October?

JPL: I have no problem with that. Whatever’s best for the game and the fans. You think we’d get a little heated after that?

INCH: What was it like to be at the WCHA Awards Dinner, see Richard Bachman win the league MVP award and be named first-team goalie, and 15 minutes later your name, not his, is on the Hobey finalist list?

JPL: I thought Richard was very deserving of all those awards. He had more wins than I did. He had a better save percentage, and I beat him for the goals-against by percentage points. He was extremely well-deserved and I thought he would’ve gotten a nod for the Hobey top 10. Things like that are out of the players’ control. I don’t think it takes away anything from what Richard accomplished this season. He had a tremendous rookie year and there’s only one other goalie to do what he accomplished and that was Curtis Joseph, so he’s in pretty good company there.

INCH: Do you have a future in professional hockey?

JPL: I’d like to think so. My dream was always to play at North Dakota then make a step at the NHL level. But I’m a realist and I know being a smaller guy I’m going to have to prove myself every season. It’s kind of like I’ve had to do my whole career to take the next step – leave it all out there. If I do those things I have no regrets at all. And if I don’t make the NHL it’s not going to define my life or define who I am. I’m very comfortable with who I am and I know hockey isn’t everything in life as well. But it’s always been a dream of mine.

INCH: You’re majoring in communication. What do you hope to do with your degree if you don’t find work on the ice?

JPL: I’ll be graduating this summer, thank God. I would really love to stay in the game. I’ve done a little bit of coaching and I think that’s something I’d probably be pretty passionate about when I’m done playing. I’ve also been interested in the broadcasting part. That would be cool to be some kind of analyst because I’ve always loved watching hockey. I watch the NHL all the time and I’m on TSN watching all their highlights. I’m such a student of the game. I’m probably a little bit anal when I watch the game. So hopefully when I’m done playing I’m still able to be around the game.

INCH: When you think about your last weekend of college hockey coming up in Denver, what do you visualize?

JPL: It’s a little bit sad because it’s a dream coming to an end, but at the same I’m extremely excited about the opportunity we have. I feel so fortunate and so lucky. There aren’t many college hockey players who can say they’ve been to four Frozen Fours. I’m extremely blessed to be part of that. In a one-game shot you need a lot of breaks and a lot of puck luck and hopefully we get some of that. Effort-wise I’m going to leave it on the ice and if we win we win. If we don’t, I’ll have no regrets.

INCH: Your father was on two NCAA championship teams at North Dakota. Do you have a family legacy to uphold?

JPL: It would be cool if I was able to win one, because then I could compare rings with my dad.