An NCAA First

The three goaltenders shown above - #33 for St. Cloud State, #33 for Bemidji State, and #33 for North Dakota - are actually one goaltender. That's Zach Driscoll who currently plays for the University of North Dakota, and he did something Friday night that no one else in NCAA history had ever done. Personally, I'm not sure how many goaltenders would even have had the chance to do it, but Driscoll now has his name in the NCAA record books!

Grand Forks Herald scribe Brad Elliott Schlossman reported on Saturday afternoon that, "[a]ccording to College Hockey News archives, he became the first goaltender in NCAA men's hockey history to post a shutout for three different programs" after recording "one shutout during his rookie season at St. Cloud State, nine during three seasons at Bemidji State and now one at UND."

That "one at UND" happened last night as Driscoll stopped all 18 shots he faced en route to the 4-0 shutout win. Driscoll went 5-8-5 in terms of saves per period for that historic shutout, but he was quick to point out that shutouts are a team achievement, not an individual one.

"Obviously, that feels good, individually," Driscoll told Schlossman. "But that doesn't happen without the team in front of us. Special teams were awesome today. Power play answered and the penalty kill did their job. The chances they did have were mostly from the outside. It was a good team effort for sure."

You can read the full list of Driscoll's shutouts, but I wonder how many goalies have actually played for three NCAA teams in their careers. There can't be many who changed schools twice after committing to one early in their careers, but Driscoll transferred as a graduate student with the extra season awarded to university seniors due to the pandemic.

Shutouts seem to be a way of life for Driscoll, though. He spent one season in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers where he was named the Dave Peterson Goalie of the Year by USA Hockey after posting eight shutouts with a .934 save percentage and a 1.90 GAA on the strength of a 23-9-1-1 record. He recorded back-to-back shutouts on April 4 and 6 when he shutout Tri-City before stopping all shots sent his way by Des Moines, and was recognized as a USHL Second Team All-Star for his 2017-18 campaign before joining Bemidji State.

If you're doing the math, that's 18 shutouts since 2016 in the NCAA and USHL over 142 games - approximately one shutout for every eight games he plays! I'm having a hard time trying to come up with reasons he hasn't been contacted by a number of professional teams, but Driscoll clearly made the right decision in moving to North Dakota where it seems the Fighting Hawks have a better-than-good chance of competing for a Frozen Four berth!

For a guy who once described himself as "just a chubby little kid who played goalie and kept working on it", he seems to have this goalie thing down pat. That work he put now has him in the NCAA record books, has him recognized the Goalie of the Year by USA Hockey, and has paid for school.

We often hear coaches talk about "effort in" to get "results out". I'd say that the effort Zach Driscoll put in is worth the results he is seeing which means that "chubby little kid" did quite well for himself!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!