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Questions surround the No. 7 Michigan hockey team with a vastly different roster entering Yost Ice Arena this season. The answers will slowly reveal themselves in the early games of the season as different Wolverines contend for spots. However, between the pipes, only one goaltender can take the reins.
And similar to the start of last season, the decision is yet to be made.
While the beginning of last season left room for then-graduate netminders Jake Barczewski and Noah West to earn the job, ultimately Barczewki landed the starting spot. By the end of the season, there was no question of Barczewski being the right choice. With both West and Barczewski gone, the position is wide open for the taking.
“We’re excited about the goalies,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said Sept. 24. “There’s a healthy competition and depth at every position. We’ll see who kind of takes the ball and runs with it.”
Naurato stuck to his roots of grabbing experienced netminders and added graduate goaltender Logan Stein to the roster during the offseason. Stein is the only goalie offering Division I experience at the position and he’s expected to add a bit more. Back in April, Stein departed from Ferris State after West transferred there. As a Bulldog, Stein averaged a save percentage of .892 with a 15-46-5 record overall. Before his time spent at Ferris State, he competed for the USHL Waterloo Blackhawks for two seasons with a slightly higher save percentage of .902.
Competing for the spot as well is freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi. Korpi spent his last two seasons playing for the Tri-City Storm where he captured USHL Goaltender of the Week three times. He averaged a .892 save percentage with a 26-13- 1 record. Alongside back-to-back cup appearances for Tri-City, he started his last season with a seven game winning streak by making 186 of 196 possible saves during that time. Korpi originally committed to Western Michigan, but eventually decided on Michigan — and he might be expected to step up rapidly.
When asked about the speculation of Korpi starting, Naurato emphasized the ongoing competition without naming a starter.
“I don’t have a plan of starting one guy over the other or splitting the whole time,” Naurato said. “…Whoever’s performing is going to go, and I’m sure it’ll change night in and night out because there’s a lot of competition.”
Stein brings a veteran status to a relatively green area, but he might find himself in a secondary spot. With a better record and clean performances last season, Korpi might see an earlier opportunity in the daunting Big Ten conference. Ultimately, both of their performances will be the deciding factor in how much ice time they see.
As Stein looks to continue his college career, others contenders are just getting started. For Korpi, there’s a sizeable chance that his collegiate debut will coincide with the Wolverines’ first game of the season.
Expecting a freshman to have an immediate turnaround is a risky choice, but its not unheard of.
Last year, as a freshman, Michigan State’s goaltender Trey Augustine saw quick success in the net even earning the Big Ten Tournament MVP in his first year. And the Wolverines vividly remember his impact on the ice from their very first contest against the Spartans last season. Augustine was an anomaly, but Korpi will attempt to make this a repeated triumph, this time, for Michigan.
The only returning netminder for the Wolverines is graduate Andrew Albano. He spent his first four years at Division III Norwich, before becoming a Wolverine prior to last year. While he has one year of the Michigan culture under his belt, he didn’t earn any playing time during that season.
Albano will likely remain the third-string, leaving the competition between Stein and Korpi. Regardless of their experience, the answer to who will spend the rest of the season in goal is left in the hands of the goaltenders themselves.
With the first game of the season approaching, the competition is heating up — both for the Wolverines and the goaltender who starts in the net rather than on the bench.
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