Cornell Netminder Turned His Game Back on This Season, Just in Time
by Joshua Seguin/Staff Writer (@JoshSeguin1)
If you asked Ian Shane, he would probably tell you this season didn’t go the way he expected. But really, his team also didn’t have the season it expected. One goal from the Frozen Four last year, with most everyone back, and picked to finish first this season — Cornell struggled, for a variety of reasons, with consistency and putting it together.
But, despite the fits and starts of the regular season, Shane and the Big Red had a big opportunity in the ECAC Tournament to atone. Shane not only made good, but put together one of the better performances of his career in the ECAC title game. He made 30 saves and bailed out his teammates on many occasions, and Cornell celebrated its second straight ECAC championship.
“I think it has a lot to do with my teammates and the staff never losing confidence in me,” Shane said. “It is pretty obvious when you’re the goalie when you have been inconsistent. I felt like I could have been better for the guys in front of me, but they kept that trust. We communicated really well throughout the year, but especially in the second half and the results came with it.”
In five games in the league tournament, Shane allowed just five goals. Over the last four games, against the top three teams in the league, the Big Red outscored opponents 13-4 and Shane had a save percentage of .957. If anything, this was closer to the numbers he expected this season, when he had a save percentage below .900 entering the playoffs.
For all the expectations Cornell had coming into the season, there were also personal expectations for its players. For Shane, winning a Richter Award, or at the very least, another Ken Dryden Award as the league’s best goalie, was probably in mind.
Last season, Shane was hands down the best goaltender in the ECAC and was arguably one of the best in the country. He had a .923 save percentage and allowed a paltry 1.69 goals per game. Cornell has had many standout goalies over the years, and its system keeps shots low and tends to help make the numbers look gaudy. But Shane was genuinely stellar last year, coming into his own and nearly getting the Big Red to the Frozen Four.
Injuries, lack of focus, special teams issues — all of the above…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at College Hockey News from CHN…