Tommy Burke’s strong weekend garnered him some attention within the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
For his performances in a weekend series against Ohio State, the freshman goalie was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week. In the two-game series, he stopped 48 of 52 shots — good for a .923 save percentage.
Burke has seized the opportunity presented to him by Andrew Hammond’s injury, thanks, in large part to the faith he has in his abilities to be successful.
“To be honest, I’m not surprised that I’m playing fairly OK right away,” Burke said following Friday’s 1-0 loss to Ohio State. “Coaches brought me in here for a reason and I feel I’m here for a reason. I don’t think I’m here to sit on the bench for four years.”
“You have to keep moving forward and keep setting the bar higher,” Burke said.
That confidence is something the coaching staff has seen in Burke.
“I think there’s a confidence to Tommy that I didn’t know was there because I hadn’t seen him in [a game] situation at this level,” said BG coach Chris Bergeron. “I talked to Tommy Monday morning about the shootout and he said, ‘I knew we were going to win the shootout, I’m really good at shootouts.’”
“I don’t look at that as anything but a positive that that’s his mindset,” Bergeron said, “His mindset is that he can get the job done, and that’s what’s impressed me the most.”
Burke has been in the net for four games this season — three starts. He has a goals-against average of 2.22 and a .913 save percent.
After Saturday’s game, Bergeron insisted there is no goaltending controversy; Hammond will still be the primary guy once he is healthy enough to play in a game.
How soon that happens is still up in the air. Bergeron said Hammond has been practicing with the team while undergoing rehab on his elbow twice a day.
Bergeron has a “don’t practice, don’t play” policy with the team regarding injured players. Because he has been practicing, Bergeron said Hammond could tell him he was ready to go as late as Friday and he would play this weekend.
However, Burke’s emergence has, in a way, taken some burden off of Hammond’s recovery.
“Tommy’s played more than admirably in Andrew’s absence,” Bergeron said. “We weren’t going to rush Andrew anyway; I don’t think this is something you can rush him back from, but we did tell him to come to us when he feels he can be in the discussion to play in games. Tommy’s play has taken a little bit of the pressure off.”
Walking wounded
Bergeron said that freshman forward Brent Tate is progressing well from a back injury, but is still not at the point where he can hit.
“Obviously that’s a huge part of his game,” Bergeron said. “Not necessarily body checking, but just contact. Battling down below the tops of the circles, grinding out plays. He’s not there yet.”
Tate has been practicing in a limited capacity. The earliest he could see action would be against Western Michigan next weekend, Bergeron said.
Additionally, Ted Pletsch (shoulder) is practicing and is in the discussion to return to the lineup this weekend.
Steady improvement
No longer among the walking wounded is junior forward Brett Mohler, who missed significant time last season with a shoulder injury.
After a strong freshman season, where he was second on the team with 17 points in 39 games, Mohler played in only 14 games this past season.
Now, he said he is the healthiest he has been in his time at BG.
“I think I’m stronger than freshman year,” he said. “The rehab this summer really helped and I feel a lot stronger. Ever since I’d gotten here, my shoulders had been bothering me, so it feels good to have a good one.”
He said his first week back on the ice was a bit difficult because he wasn’t sure how his surgically repaired shoulder would hold up to contact. He said the confidence in his shoulder came back pretty quickly.
However, he said his conditioning level is still not where he wants it to be.
“Nothing really prepares you for on-ice conditioning and I could’ve been more proactive with that,” Mohler said. “I’ve slowly gotten the conditioning back. I’m still not where I need to be to help the team out, but I think it’s coming back and I feel a lot better on the ice right now.”
