RYAN FARAGHER
St. Cloud State
So. | G | Fort Frances, Ont.
Ryan Faragher
Key Statistics: Pressed into emergency duty early in his rookie season when veteran Mike Lee was injured, Faragher had a memorable WCHA debut, making 44 saves in a shutout at North Dakota. He was 9-11-3 as a freshman with a 2.75 GAA and a .915 saves percentage.
What He Does: Practically anyone with a set of goalie gear can stop an opponent’s first shot. It’s keeping rebounds out of the net that makes for a successful netminder. Already blessed with size and athleticism, Faragher says his flexibility takes his game to the next level. He’s a goalie who thrives on movement and says that flexibility allows him to often make second and third saves in unorthodox ways other goalies might not even attempt. With Lee leaving early for the pro ranks, Faragher has gone in one year from the no-pressure backup role to being the veteran the Huskies will look to for defensive stability. “It’s a challenge he’s definitely ready for,” said Huskies coach Bob Motzko.
The Bigger Picture: Motzko doesn’t mind using the moniker of one of the Huskies’ rivals to describe his presumptive number one goalie. “He’s an absolute bulldog off the ice with the way he trains,” he said, adding that Faragher’s instant success in goal last season when Lee went down gave the team a psychological boost and immediate hope they would be fine with him in the crease. The intense workout regimen doesn’t stop in the summer. Faragher has spent the warm months in Bismarck, where he played junior hockey, working in the gym, on the track, and on the rink four times per week. His goals as a sophomore include getting stronger, gaining patience in the net, and being more efficient with his movements. A generation ago, detractors would’ve called Faragher a flopper, but with the recent success of high-energy, high-movement ex-collegians like Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick, no one will look sideways at a goalie like Faragher who likes to explore the space in and around the blue paint.
Faragher on the National Hockey Center’s notoriously vocal student section: “The Dog Pound is pretty relentless. They stay in the other goalie’s ear for the whole game. I don’t think I’d like being down in that end when we’re on the attack. I guess you could say I feel bad for the opposing goalie sometimes.”
