Article published November 06, 2009
Young goalie playing big for Walleye
Alec Richards exhibited a poise that belied his years and experience earlier this week after being bombarded by 13 shots and seeing Kalamazoo score three goals in the first period of a Walleye game at Lucas County Arena.
He said later that "there wasn't much I could do on any of the goals," which is a goalie's polite way of saying the defense playing in front of him was still punching the snooze button for the 10:30 a.m. kiddies' game on Wednesday.
"I couldn't get upset with myself," Richards said. "As a goalie, my job is to weather the storm when things aren't going well. All I could do was make the next save."
Did he ever. From the point that the K-Wings took a 3-1 lead, Richards turned aside 20 of 21 shots as the Walleye, with its defense finally answering the bell, rallied for a 5-4 overtime win.
Toledo coach Nick Vitucci said the book on a goalie is written by "what kind of confidence level he gives the rest of the team … if he gives you a chance to win."
On that basis, Richards has already made a mark just five games into his professional career.The first-year Walleye are built around one of the youngest goalie tandems in any league, even the ECHL, which is considered a developmental league.
Richards is 22 and last year at this time was leading Yale University to an ECAC championship with a 2.06 goals-against-average. Jordan Pearce, 23, was in the net at Notre Dame - he led the nation's goalies in wins and shutouts and had a 1.68 GAA - before adding one late-season start in the AHL for Grand Rapids after signing a pro contract with the Detroit organization.
Together, they have the Walleye off to a 5-2 start (plus one shootout loss) after a two-game sweep of Kalamazoo. Next up is another budding rivalry against the Cincinnati Cyclones with a road game tonight and a return match in Toledo tomorrow night.
Richards, who was assigned to Toledo by the Chicago organization, has started five games for the Walleye and owns a 2.31 GAA and a .921 saves percentage.
"It's different than college," the Minnesota native said. "Guys are a lot more talented and there are more scoring chances against you. This is my first year as a pro and I'm here to develop and get my feet wet. I'm learning to play the puck more, to deal with more second shots and to communicate better with my defense. So far, I've been pretty comfortable. I don't think I've been overwhelmed."
He was being modest based on Vitucci's assessment.
"Alec is a special goalie," his coach said. "He's a big kid (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) who moves really well and knows how to compete and battle. I know the Blackhawks are high on him and for really good reason.
"In the second and third periods [Wednesday] when we were coming back he made all the routine saves and about 10, maybe a dozen, really huge saves."
Several came early in the third period when Richards sprawled to stop a salvo of shots, and the biggest came just a split second before the horn ending regulation when Kalamazoo managed a 2-on-1 rush and a point-blank shot.
"Jordan and I work hard every day in practice and I think our teammates know that whatever the circumstance is, we're going to compete hard for them," Richards said.
Contact Blade sports columnist
Dave Hackenberg at:
dhack@theblade.com
or 419-724-6398
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