Jacob Fowler loses Frozen Four final

If there’s one name in the Montreal Canadiens’ entourage that has people talking these days, it’s Lane Hutson.

Jacob Fowler, on the other hand, is just as much on the lips of hockey fans in Quebec thanks to his incredible NCAA season.

The 19-year-old goalie played all season with Boston College, the same team as Cutter Gauthier, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard and Gabriel Perreault.

Prior to this Saturday night’s Frozen Four grand final, Fowler had an outstanding record of 32-5-1, with a goals-against-average of 2.14 and a save percentage of 92.6% (.926).

He may have had a very good team in front of him, but he still performed up to expectations to make the club unstoppable.

For the grand finale, we were treated to a clash between the two best goalkeepers, Fowler and Matt Davis.

Although he didn’t allow any bad goals in the final, Fowler was unable to make the difference, just like his teammates.

It was also in this game that we were treated to the NCAA save of the year. It was Fowler’s opponent, Davis, who made this incredible save.

Denver finally won by a score of 2-0.

Boston College’s high-powered offense was shut out, but Fowler still did very well, turning aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced.

Looking at Fowler’s season as a whole, he was more than excellent.

Not only did he put up incredible statistics, but he also broke the record for most wins by a rookie goalie in the NCAA.

That record belonged to Al Montoya, who won 30 games in his rookie year.

With 32 wins in 38 games, it will be extremely difficult to beat Fowler’s record.

It’s a shame Fowler couldn’t win the final, as he’s been more than solid this season. Without conceding any bad goals, the 19-year-old goalkeeper would certainly have hoped to perform better.

One thing’s for sure, though, and that’s that he’ll have a chance to bounce back next season. He may not have as good a team in front of him, with the departure of several veterans, including Cutter Gauthier, but he’ll be able to prove that he wasn’t just a goalkeeper on an excellent team.

With a less well-off club, he’ll have the chance, once again, to silence his detractors by being the elite goalie in the NCAA.

I can’t wait to see how he does next year.

Extension

Denver won its 10th NCAA national championship. The defensive brigade was excellent, perfect, as was goalkeeper Matt Davis, who proved he was the best goalkeeper in the tournament. Davis turned away all 35 shots he faced.