University of Maine sophomore goalie Albin Boija will make his NCAA tournament debut a year later than expected on Friday night when the Black Bears face Penn State in their first round game as part of the Allentown Regional.
Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. at the PPL Center.
Boija was scheduled to start the Springfield Regional game against Cornell last season but became ill and couldn’t play.
Senior Victor Ostman replaced him and made 15 saves in the 3-1 loss to the Big Red.
“I felt a little powerless, for sure. Not being able to do what I could,” Boija said.
This year, Boija is an All-Hockey East second team selection and finalist for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the nation’s top Division I goaltender. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Hockey East Tournament.
“Having him in net is such a relief,” said UMaine graduate student center and co-captain Lynden Breen. “He keeps us in games. We have his back and he has our backs.”
He posted a 1.71 goals-against average and a .935 percentage in the wins over UMass Lowell (7-1), Northeastern (4-3 in double overtime) and UConn (5-2).
He also picked up his second career assist on Josh Nadeau’s goal against UConn, which gave UMaine a 2-0 lead.
Boija said being named the MVP was “a nice little bonus. It was fun, for sure.”
The native of Sundsvall, Sweden, said he feels “pretty good” about his game right now.
“We won it so I can’t be complaining too much even though I have higher standards for myself than how I played in parts of those games,” said Boija.
“But, in general, I’m happy,” added the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Boija. “I’m happy with the outcomes, happy with the process.”
Boija will take a 23-7-6 record, a 1.76 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage into Friday night’s game.
He has the nation’s fifth-lowest GAA among goalies at the 64 Division I schools and eighth-best save percentage.
He has played the fourth-most minutes (2210) among goalies ranked in the top 50 in GAA.
He has registered four shutouts.
He has held opponents to two goals or less 27 times and to one goal on 11 occasions.
He has a career playoff GAA of 2.00 and a save percentage of .937 to go with his 4-1 record, all in Hockey East playoff contests.
Other members of the team call him “the best goalie in the country,” according to junior left wing Owen Fowler.
“He has been our backbone. He gives you so much confidence up front,” said Fowler. “If you make a mistake, he will definitely try his best to bail you out. He is so confident in his game.”
UMaine sophomore right wing Josh Nadeau said it’s great to play in front of Boija.
“You know he’s going to help us win every night. He is like a wall back there. We’re safe,” said Nadeau.
