Nick Eno and Jimmy Spratt are definitely not the average goaltending duo.
They are the only two Falcons on the 2007-08 roster to have been selected by an NHL team. No team in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, or perhaps even in the country, holds a similar set of netminders who represent their team in that fashion.
‘It is kind of unique, and it’s certainly a credit to both those guys and what they have achieved to this point,’ said BG coach Scott Paluch.
Each has also registered an offensive point as well this year, with Eno getting an assist on Nov. 9 against Ferris State and Spratt on Jan. 26 versus Notre Dame. This is another distinction on the national level, as Ferris State and Colorado College are the only other teams in America to have two goaltenders with points this season.
The tandem has helped lead the Falcons to a .500 mark thus far in the CCHA, something the team hasn’t come close to in over two seasons. BG’s recently returned success can easily be seen as a result of the accomplishments that Eno, a 2007 Buffalo Sabres’ pick, and Spratt, a 2004 Calgary Flames’ choice, have put together this year.
While they came to BG two years apart (Eno is a freshman and Spratt a junior), the two goalies share one big similarity. They both grew up about an hour apart in Michigan, with Eno coming from Howell and Spratt from Chesterfield.
Other than that, though, their junior and college careers could not be much more different.
Jimmy Spratt came into the Falcon hockey program fresh off of two successful years with Sioux City of the United States Hockey League. He was twice named a USHL All-Star for the Musketeers, posting a 43-17 regular season record in two seasons with impressive goals against and save percentage numbers.
Once arriving in BG, however, Spratt did not enjoy quite as much success in his first two seasons in Ohio. Regardless of whether or not it was the fault of the team around him, Spratt won just 10 games in nearly 50 appearances during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Eno, on the other hand, probably couldn’t wait to escape his doomed fate with an Eastern Junior Hockey League team called the Green Mountain Glades. He finished his lone year in juniors with nine wins in 25 starts.
‘Last year [in juniors], we didn’t have the best team, so there were a few times when I’d see 40 or 50 shots a night,’ Eno said.
Even with that amount of pucks flying at him some nights, Nick Eno ranked in the top 10 in save percentage and goals against average in the EJHL last winter.
Thus, when Eno started out 4-0 with the Falcons in 2007, and has now continued to a 10-6 mark with two weekends to go, it surely is a refresher for the freshman goalie.
Spratt, who hasn’t seen quite the same success with a 5-9 record this season, noted that having a second go-to guy in net this season has been a welcome addition after he started in 22 of the Falcons’ 29 losses last year.
‘It’s been really healthy competition,’ Spratt said.
‘Although you might like to play the majority of the games, it’s best for the team to split time and we’ve had some success doing so.’
