Plugging in for a battery recharge is all that Coleman Vollrath needed.
The Victoria Royals backstopper was named Monday as the WHL nominee for the Vaughn Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the week award for his 1.00 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in 3-1 and 4-1 victories over the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kelowna Rockets, respectively.
That鈥檚 quite an answer back from the 20-year-old veteran, who some fans thought might be losing his grip on the No. 1 spot, when emerging 17-year-old Royals goaltending rookie Griffen Outhouse started a flurry of games in a row last month.
鈥淚 got a bit rundown,鈥� said Vollrath, the all-time Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals franchise record-holder by a goaltender for games played with 153 and wins with 74.
鈥淚 had played a lot of hockey and it finally caught up with me. I thought I was Ironman, but I鈥檓 not. It [Outhouse鈥檚 run of starts] gave me some recovery time and a chance to get treatment on a couple of things.鈥�
Victoria has outscored the opposition 28-5 in its last four games. What鈥檚 most impressive is that the latter two of those games were decisive wins over the Rockets and Hurricanes, the top two teams in the WHL.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable . . . it鈥檚 reflective of how the guys have been playing in front of me,鈥� said Vollrath, who was called up to the pros last spring for a stint with the Ontario Reign in the ECHL playoffs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing to our system and the way Dave [Royals coach Lowry] wants to get us to play every night. We鈥檙e committed to defence first, and that is giving us a chance to win. I hope it continues.鈥�
Vollrath is second in WHL goaltending behind Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips. Hart, the top-ranked North American goalie for the 2016 NHL draft, leads with a 1.96 goals-against average and Vollrath is second at 2.38.
This is the third time this season, and fourth occasion in his career, that Vollrath has been nominated for the CHL goaltender of the week award against the nominees from the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior League. The winner will be announced later in the week. Vollrath won his second career CHL weekly award earlier this season in October.
The Royals (31-15-5) meet the Calgary Hitmen (30-18-2), with former Royals defenceman and Calgary Flames prospect Keegan Kanzig, on Wednesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
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