Northeastern goaltender Marc Robitaille has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, forgoing his final two years of eligibility. Robitaille earned First-Team All-Hockey East and All-America honors this past year while backstopping the Huskies to a surprising 21-15-3 record and fourth-place league finish.
As a freshman, Robitaille stopped 1027 shots, a school record, on a 8-25-3 team that finished last in Hockey East. This past season, the Gloucester, Ont., native played in all 39 Northeastern games, posting a 3.19 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage despite an inexperienced Husky defense that often featured five freshmen.
“You’re not going to replace someone of that caliber,” said NU coach Bruce Crowder. “The kid who gets the nod won’t see as many shots as Marc did. We’ll be more mature on defense, but the two factors may not be a wash.”
Dan Calore and Andrew Puttick, who both saw scattered minutes of action as freshmen last year, will be candidates to fill the void along with recruit Jason Braun (Green Bay Gamblers, United States Hockey League). Additional recruits are also under consideration.
