Nov. 1, 2012
Notre Dame, Ind. – University of Notre Dame goaltender Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) has been named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) Gongshow Goaltender of the Month for the month of October.
The junior puck stopper appeared in five of Notre Dame’s six games during the opening month of the season, recording a conference-best four wins (4-1-0) with a 1.61 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. His opening win of the season was a 1-0 shutout of the University of Maine in the first game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Notre Dame leads the conference with a league-best 1.67 goals-against average through October.
The 6-0, 188-pound net minder got the season off to a fast start, making 22 saves in the shutout of Maine on Oct. 12. He followed that with 28 saves the following night in a 3-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha in the Ice Breaker Tournament’s championship game. Summerhays was selected to the all-tournament team and earned CCHA goaltender of the week honors and Inside College Hockey.com’s national player of the week honors for his play the week ending Oct. 14.
Summerhays suffered his only loss of the season on Oct. 18, dropping a 3-1 decision to Minnesota Duluth, making 17 saves in the home opener for the Irish. He bounced back the following night with a season-high, 33 saves, in a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs on Oct. 19.
The talented junior made his fifth-consecutive start on Oct. 26 at Northern Michigan, making 22 saves in a 5-2 win over the Wildcats in the series opener in Marquette, Mich. Notre Dame went on to sweep Northern Michigan with a 3-2 win in the second game of the series.
That gives the Irish a 5-1-0 overall record and a 2-0-0-0 mark in the CCHA, heading into the month of November.
Summerhays has been on a roll in goal for Notre Dame since Feb. 24 of last season. In his last 10 starts for the Irish, he is 7-3-0 with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. Three of his seven wins are shutouts.
For his career, the former United States Hockey League (USHL) standout from the Green Bay Gamblers, is 19-13-1 with a 2.43 goals-against, a .903 save percentage and three shutouts. He has appeared in 37 games for the Irish, making 32 career starts.
Summerhays and his Notre Dame teammates open the month of November with a pair of games versus the Western Michigan Broncos. The teams play at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2 at the Compton Family Ice Arena and again at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4.
Gongshow Gear, Inc. is the official CCHA sponsor of both the league’s rookie and goaltender of the month awards. The company is recognized as the hockey goods industry’s premier manufacturer of innovative, high-quality, fashionable and trend-setting clothing apparel for hockey athletes of all ages and abilities.