The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/418536
BY BOB MILLER M ichigan's goaltending tandem of sophomore Zach Nagelvoort and ju‑ nior Steve Racine admit‑ tedly hasn't played up to its capabili‑ ties yet early in the 2014‑15 season. The duo forms Michigan's last line of defense on the ice, and both are convinced the friendly competition between them will eventually bring out the best in the other. Despite Michigan hockey's long‑ term tradition of single‑goaltender systems, both netminders believe they can use the competition from their teammate to help push them‑ selves to the higher performance level expected of them. Nagelvoort started six of Michigan's first nine games and Racine started three through Nov. 15. Each of the two was in net for two victories through those first nine games, and the num‑ bers posted by the pair were very simi‑ lar. Nagelvoort's goals‑against average was 3.31 and Racine's was 3.88. Nagel‑ voort's save percentage was .884 with Racine just a touch below that with .877. "What I ask of a goalie is to make the routine saves and try to main‑ tain a save percentage of over .900," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "Both of our goaltenders are under a .900 save percentage at this point [through the American Inter‑ national games Nov. 14‑15]. "It's been a changing story here at Michigan, where in years past we had guys like Marty Turco and Josh Blackburn and Al Montoya. They carried the mail night after night. It's not too much pressure on the backup goaltender to play. Even Steve Shields, when he played, he played just about every game, and we had a lot of success with that. But nowa‑ days, it's not unusual to have two goalies that can play. That's where we find ourselves now. "So, whether we can call one goalie a starting goalie or not, really the starting goalie is the one who ends up having the better record and eventually shows that he can play more." However, Berenson's needs on the ice are immediate. "Right now, it's been kind of a partnership," Berenson said. "I think both goalies think that they can play and help our team win. What I need from our goalies is for them to under‑ stand that we need better goalkeep‑ ing. We also need our defense to play better. Our goalies have to give us a chance every night no matter who is playing. I think they've both proven in the past that they can." Nagelvoort, a 6‑1, 209‑pound na‑ tive of Holland, Mich., played 24 games as a freshman last season, posting an 11‑9‑3 record with a 2.20 goals‑against average and a .929 save percentage. The save per‑ centage mark was the second‑best ever for a Wolverine in a single season, surpassed only by Shawn Hunwick's .932 save percentage in 2011‑12. Nagelvoort also turned aside a whopping 63 shots in Michi‑ gan's opening game against Penn State in last season's inaugural Big Ten Tournament. "For me, there have been flashes of me playing my game, but I don't