These are heady days for the Victoria Grizzlies.
Not only is the sa国际传媒 Hockey League team bound for the second round of the Island Division playoffs, after rallying from a 0-3 series deficit in the first round, but now goaltending alumnus Matthew Galajda is the only freshman on the list of 10 candidates announced Wednesday for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA player of the year.
Galajda has recorded sterling numbers in his bid to become the first goaltender to win the Hobey Baker since current Anaheim Ducks NHLer Ryan Miller in 2001.
鈥淚 did not know what to expect coming in but I would not have expected this,鈥� said the undrafted Galajda.
鈥淚 played with an edge, and a chip on my shoulder.鈥�
It showed: Galajda鈥檚 1.43 goals-against average was the best recorded in the NCAA in six seasons as he was named winner of the Ken Dryden Award as ECAC goaltender of the year, becoming the first Big Red goalie to win it since former NHLer and current KHL-pro Ben Scrivens in 2009-10. The 20-year-old native of Aurora, Ont., was also named ECAC rookie of the year and Ivy League player of the year. Galajda鈥檚 .943 save percentage and remarkable nine shutouts backstopped the Big Red to a 21-3-2 record and its first regular-season title since 2004-05, and a date against Princeton in the ECAC semifinals Friday at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.
Galajda will be looking for a repeat of last year鈥檚 post-season when he led Victoria to the third round of the BCHL playoffs. His regular-season goals-against averages for the Grizzlies were 2.70 over 43 games in 2015-16 and 2.33 in 40 games last season.
鈥淚 learned to play with consistency in Victoria,鈥� he said.
Other Hobey Baker finalists this season include Canucks fifth-round draft pick Adam Gaudette of Northeastern, Canadian 2018 world junior gold-medallist and Stars prospect Colton Point of Colgate and Bruins-prospect Ryan Donato, who led the U.S. in scoring at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Fans will decide the three Hobey Baker finalists in voting taking place until March 29 on the award鈥檚 Facebook site. The winner will be announced April 6 during the Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
