Michigan State’s Chad Alban became just the fourth netminder in collegiate history to tally a goal Saturday night, scoring into an empty net in the Spartans’ 6-3 win over Ferris State.
On the play, Alban collected the puck in the corner to the right of Michigan State’s goal and fired a 180-foot shot which bounded into left half of the Bulldog net at 19:47 of the third period.
Alban is believed to be just the second college netminder to score off a deliberate try, and the first to do so in an NCAA contest. The other, Maine’s Jim Tortorella, shot a puck against Vasby of Sweden in 1980 which was mishandled by the Vasby keeper for a goal.
Michigan Tech’s Damian Rhodes (1989) and Vermont’s Andrew Allen (earlier this season) have also been credited with goals — Rhodes as the last MTU player to touch the puck before a Colorado College player put it into his own goal, and Allen on a tip of a Harvard pass from behind the Vermont net which then sailed all the way down-ice.
Saturday night, Alban also had the single assist on Michigan State’s third goal. The senior netminder now has one goal and nine assists in his four-year career.
