By Dan McLoone, columnist
It seems like men’s hockey Head Coach Jim Madigan can make no bad decision when choosing whom to start in the net.
Entering the home stretch of the 2014-15 season, Northeastern’s men’s hockey team has two strong goalies in between the pipes. Redshirt senior goalie Clay Witt, one of the squad’s assistant captains, has been the de facto starter from day one after a breakout junior season. In Witt’s injury absences, redshirt sophomore Derick Roy has played extremely well.
Witt won the job of starter in the preseason last year by outplaying Roy and then-senior Bryan Mountain. He was named a Mike Richter Award finalist, the award for the top goaltender in Division I hockey, while recording a .932 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average in 32 games. He also tied for eighth place in the nation with four shutouts.
Roy, in the meantime, stepped up his ice time. After logging just five games as a backup last year, Roy has been terrific for the stretches in which Witt has been injured. He was named the Stop It Goaltender of the Month by Hockey East in January after helping lead the Huskies to a 4-0-1 record in the games he played that month.
Both goalies have seen significant ice time this season, with Witt logging over 1,000 minutes in 17 starts and Roy clocking in at just over 745 minutes for his 12 starts. But when comparing their season stats, the two might just be indistinguishable.
Roy has a .915 save percentage and averages 2.58 goals against per game. Witt has a .913 save percentage and averages 2.51 goals against per game.
Based on their résumés before the season, it would seem as though Witt would have been the superior netminder. If one told a Husky fan during preseason that Roy was starting numerous games, they might assume that it was solely because Witt was injured. But that hasn’t been the case.
Even after Witt returned from a nagging upper body injury midway through the season, Madigan was so impressed with Roy’s performance that he has been giving Witt a rest down the stretch. And it has not been a step down in performance.
This past weekend against the University of Connecticut, Witt and Roy each started one game. Witt recorded 27 saves on the Friday night game at Matthews Arena in a big 9-0 win. Roy made 30 saves the next day as the Huskies won 6-1 at the XL Center in Connecticut.
Both goalies have proven their worth during the 14-3-3 stretch that NU has been on since starting the season 0-8-1. They will need the strong play to continue down the home stretch, with three crucial matchups against Boston University (BU) looming to end the season. NU currently sits at fifth place in Hockey East with five games left in the regular season: four conference games and the Beanpot Championship. Even if the Huskies win out, though, it is doubtful that they would get an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. While they have recently been one of the best teams in the nation, the nine game winless stretch to start the season all but ensures their lack of a bid.
That means that they will need to win the Hockey East tournament and earn an automatic bid. The tournament will be a gauntlet that could see them need wins against BU, Boston College or University of Massachusetts Lowell, all some of the top scoring teams in the nation. The key to winning against those high-powered offenses will be stopping them defensively and that duty will fall on Witt and Roy.
Regardless of whom Madigan decides to start, the team is confident in either option, and, with Roy still in a Husky uniform next season as well, the pain of losing Witt after this season won’t be as bad.
-Dan McLoone can be reached at [email protected].
