Message Board PNCLL B Division Best Goalie

[Kyle Berggren]

Who is it?

[TheBearcatHimself]

I didn't PM you Kyle because I kinda wanted to say this so everyone could consider it. I'm not gonna come on here and say "my guys the best" etc. etc. But I do believe Ross LaGrandeur here at Willamette may have performed the most underrated netminding in the PNCLL for the last two years. Many may scoff at this and point to his GAA. Well think about this: LaGrandeur's GAA is only 0.5 GAA per game LESS than Blake Gaudet at Albertson, who I believe hands down is the best goalie in the league (so now you know where my vote went). Gaudet had 51 more saves too, which shows he is the better goalie.

BUT, can any of you honestly say that any goalie had to deal with more offensive assault upon his person than our goalie here at WU? I talked with him the other day and told him how thankful I was for him stepping up and doing this thankless task of playing goalie for this young inexperienced team, and I tried to estimate how many shots he'd taken over the last two years, and I came up with the number around 600 based on game reports. Now needless to say many of these he did not save because they were off net, but to be subjected to so many shots and only give up 161 goals in 16 games? That's 10 GAA per game, plus he took roughly 40 shots per game on goal? That's pretty good. Now don't take me the wrong way here, I'm not saying he's the best, I just think we should give credit where credit is due. Symington, Cuevas, and Gaudet are all AMAZING goalies, don't think I'm trying to take them down. I just think that playing with such a terrible defense our guy should get some props.

Thanks for the consideration, there are some GREAT goalies in this league!

[Laxfan23]

I won't go in to depth about the Albertson keeper (saw the complaints about chest thumping in the best of the best forum).

So picking from the rest of the field:

The only knock I see on the Montana keeper (Colin) is that he has only seen time in five games. It looks like he was impressive in those games, no doubt, but it's harder to keep the save percentage up when you're seeing shots in the multiple hundreds over the season. Also sounds like he had the best defense the league had to offer in front of him. Again, it looks like he is a great keeper, but I would like to see a season where he sees more time before I call him the best.

My pick would be Alex of Linfield. Saw him play when Linfield played BSU at Albertson, and of course when Albertson played Linfield. He had a rough day against Cody, but that was before everyone started collapsing on #3. Again, he saw a ton of shots over the season and still kept a very respectable save percentage. He was very loud and directed the defense well. Also a crazy hustler outside of the crease.

That's my two cents.

[Juergy]

I think Kevin Wilson from Whitman deserves more recognition than he reseives. Having watched Whitman play PLU and WWU, he definitly played huge against these teams. Whitman played great against WWU, almost winning, and Wilson was the single most important factor. Time and again, he stopped their guns. Against PLU, he was masterful, stuffing close range shots time and again. The 18 goals Whitman gave up against the Lutes should be more credited to their entire team rather than Kevin. He isn't hyped very much, but he is definitly this team's MVP (and while this team may not be the #1 seed, they are in the playoffs).

[Hi-Line Lax]

I think it's true that there are many great goalies in this league, but I think we have another fantastic goalie on our team. Dave Crosby and Colin Connery are both freshman (Colin a mid-season pick up), but we have been balancing them both on the field...thus the games played for Colin. Just wanted to clarify on that. They both have a lot of raw talent, like Noah on WWU, but are not the experienced netminders that Blake is. Although we didn't play them, I was also impressed watching Kevin Wilson from Whitman...don't know if he was the same guy they had last year, but he looked much improved.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

When picking the best goalie in this league, using save percentage is not a good idea. If there is any statistic which the average statkeeper makes mistakes keeping. . .it's saves. I've seen way too many games where a goalie gets a save on missed shots, pipes hit, and shots that didn't make it all the way to the cage.

You need to actually see each of these players in action to make a true judgement on ability. . .Kevin Wilson being a great example. He made several amazing saves against PLU ( I wasn't there but I heard that he was phenomenal) , but the Lutes moved the ball so well he gave up a bunch of goals. . .the numbers don't tell the whole picture.

One thing is certain. Goalie play in the B division is far better in this league right now than it ever has been in the past.

[Laxfan23]

My point still holds. You will see a lot of goalies up in the 70% area at the beginning of the season, whereas by the time the season wears on that number will start to decline. Granted save percentage is not the most accurate stat in this league. However, I think it is fair to say that a keeper who plays a whole season and sees a greater amount of shots is going to have a harder time keeping that percentage up.

But I agree with you that save percentage is not the best way to determine the best keeper.

[muchachojones]

I wouldn't say that he is the best goalie. But I would say that PLU's #4 keeper is the most improved goalie this year. I was not that impressed the first time that PLU and Linfield met. But in the first round playoff game he made a ton of good saves and really helped his team keep the lead.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

For the record PLUs current goalie had never played the position before. . .and when PLU had goalie problems at the start of the year, this kid Ben Rasare, who is a good athlete and played long-pole in HS. . .stepped up and gets better every week. The first time Linfield saw him it was the first or second game of his life between the pipes.

[muchachojones]

I thought that this was an interesting stat to look up while procrastonating.

Saves Per Game:

1. Blake-Albertson-25.1
2. Rafael-L&C-25 (Through five games)
3. Alex-Linfield-19.4
4. Ross-Willamette-18.8
5. Noah-WWU-14.9
6. Greg-SOU-14.7
7. Steve-WOU-13.1
8. Even-CWU-11.1
9. Kevin-Whitman-11
10. Colin-Montana-10.8
11. Dave-Montana-10.7
12. Benjamen-PLU-7.4

[Timbalaned]

My boy nate, he kills

[Blynk22]

I thought that this was an interesting stat to look up while procrastonating.

Saves Per Game:
12. Benjamen-PLU-7.4

In Ben's defense, he only started playing goalie after our 5th game, putting him at 11.56 saves a game...pretty darn good for someone just picking up a goalie stick half way through the season

[Kyle Berggren]

I was able to see the WOU goalie this weekend, and I was actually pretty impressed. Obviously, he was very confident, but had good stickwork, and made pretty good decisions with the ball... He definately wouldn't hurt any team in cage.

[Chunk]

In regards to amount of saves a goalie makes... yes, obviously it is important, but that definitely cannot be the only thing in which you can grade them on, especially due to the inconsistencies with reporting a 'save' versus a shot on goal. I think just as important, or even more, is how the goalie directs his defense while on defense, or when clearing the ball. The goalie has to be one of the leaders on the field. A goalie who makes 10 saves a game, can definitely be more effective than one that makes 20 per game... if he directs his defense more effectively, he will face less shots hence the lower totals.

[woulax23]

^ Word...... that is one of Alex Johnson's best features, he is always loud and directs all of his defenders immaculately on both defense and clears. Plus he doesn't lose his cool at all after giving up a goal, i think that a lot of goalies get rattled if you sneak an easy one by him early and it could affect his performance for the game. Alex tends to just shrug it all off and step up to make great saves no matter what the score is.