BGSU hockey’s (15-7-6, 12-5-3) freshman goaltender Jacob Steinman put together a truly impressive game while helping the Falcons secure a 3-1 victory over No. 15 St. Thomas (18-9-3, 15-5-2).
St. Thomas has been known for their goalscoring all season, with senior forward and St. Thomas captain Lucas Wahlin (18), graduate forward Alex Gaffney (16), freshman forward Nathan Pilling (14) and senior forward Jake Braccini (14) all being among the top-50 goal scorers in the NCAA so far this season.
Additionally, Gaffney (34), Wahlin (33) and freshman forward Lucas Van Vliet (31) are among the top-50 in points scored in the NCAA this season.
St. Thomas would flex their offensive muscles early in the first period with senior forward Caige Sterzer tipping in a shot from Gaffney while on a power-play opportunity on just the second UST shot of the game.
However, that would be the only St. Thomas goal Steinman would surrender as he would stand tall for the rest of the game while facing the full force of St. Thomas’ offensive arsenal.
Throughout the game, Steinman was called on to face one-on-zero breakout plays, two-on-zero breakaways, power play opportunities and other dangerous opportunities as the Tommies threw everything and the kitchen sink at the young netminder in an attempt to tie the game.
“What was your favorite save he made? That two-on-zero, it was pretty good, eh,” said head coach Dennis Williams after the game.
By the end of the night, Steinman had made 31 saves, including 17 in the third period alone, and recorded a .969 save percentage.
“He was good, calm. Tough game, he let that first one in, you’re probably going holy smokes and their (St. Thomas) feeling good, but he really settled in. I thought he played great tonight, Cole (junior goaltender Cole Moore) played great last night, and they both gave us a chance to win a hockey game,” said Williams.
“You see your goalie make a save like that and you see him battling, it makes you want to work that much harder and play harder in front of him,” said redshirt senior defenseman Jackson Niedermayer.
The 31 save effort ties his performance on Nov. 22 against St. Thomas for the second-most saves the freshman netminder has made in a single game so far in his college career. Interestingly, his highest save performance also came against the Tommies with a 36 save performance on Nov. 21.
The .969 save percentage marks the highest single-game save percentage in the Ottawa, Ontario, native’s college career.
Following last night’s effort, Steinman’s season statistics now read as 347 saves, a .920 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average.
Steinman and the Falcons will hit the road next weekend as they face Augustana (18-9-3, 12-7-2) at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
