Following Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinal win over Utica, 2-0, the University of New England is heading to their first ever Frozen Four in Lake Placid this weekend. Key in the win was sophomore goaltender Billy Girard IV who made 38 saves in shutting out the high-powered offense of the nation’s No. 2 ranked team. Girard and his teammates who blocked 15 shots on Saturday, have been playing their best brand of hockey over the past month and are looking for just two more wins to product the program’s first ever national championship.
“We really have tightened up on the defensive end,” said Girard. “We had a number of game cancellations after the semester break through the first half of January and when we got back to playing, we weren’t playing well defensively. Our coaching staff really made us re-focus from the net out on playing better from the team perspective. The team has worked hard on being better in our end and you saw that on Saturday with the number of blocks and shots where guys blocked out in front of the net and gave me a good look at the puck.”
Heading into the game against Utica and a hostile crowd of 3000 plus Pioneer fans, the team was well-prepared for Utica’s style of play and Girard backstopped the victory playing his very best in the final 20 minutes where he made 20 saves to close out the 2-0 win.
“Our coaches knew that Utica liked to generate a lot of their offense from up top at the points and that they shot a lot of pucks from out high looking for tips and screens to make it tough on the goalie,” noted Girard. “The whole team did a great job in giving me a lot of clean looks and also blocking a lot of shots to keep the pucks out of dangerous areas. I could see a lot of pucks cleanly which made it easier to make saves and control my rebounds. It was a total team effort and they helped make it easier for me in doing my job – stopping the puck.”
While the Nor’easters are breaking new ground in playing in their first Frozen Four, Girard along with his UNE teammates are trying to stay focused and keep things as normal as possible.
“Last week was a little different around campus with everyone on spring break,” stated Girard. “This week it is back to classes so there is the schoolwork to stay busy with even this weekend coming up. I really try to stick to the recipes, keep the routines the same and continue to build the needed mental toughness. There are just four teams left so regardless of who we play, they are going to be good and Geneseo is certainly that. We can’t get ahead of ourselves at this point. It is cliché but it has to be one game at a time even knowing you want to play two. It is all about Friday and Geneseo right now.”
Since February 1, UNE has won 13 straight contests and surrendered just 21 goals over that span for a scant 1.62 goals-against average. Girard has been the mainstay in goal playing 25 of 27 games this season surrendering two or fewer goals in eleven of the last thirteen games and posting two shutouts.
“He has been the backbone of our team this season,” said head coach Kevin Swallow. “His game on Saturday is how he has played the last month and a half of the season. He has been a big part of our success and the team has great confidence playing in front of him.”
The Nor’easters will look to extend their win streak on Friday afternoon when they face SUNY-Geneseo at Herb Brooks Rink in Lake Placid, NY.
