MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – February 18, 2014 – For the third time in as many weeks, Terry Shafer (Penfield, N.Y. / New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs), the goaltender for the Robert Morris University men's ice hockey team, has been named the Travel Team USA Goaltender of the Week by the Atlantic Hockey Association.
"It's nice to get those accolades and stuff like that," said Shafer in a recent interview with rmucolonials.com about earning weekly honors from the league. "It's an award for one guy, but really it's a team thing.
"It's a testament to how well my defense has been playing in front of me and how well our penalty killers have been playing."
Shafer earned co-goaltender honors this week after the Colonials split a two-game home-and-home series with the Niagara Purple Eagles. Robert Morris (12-14-4, 12-7-4 AHA) traveled to Niagara on Thursday where they dropped a 5-3 contest before hosting the Purple Eagles on Saturday in a game that was a 5-0 decision for RMU.
In Thursday's contest, a loss that snapped RMU's nine-game unbeaten streak, Shafer made 34 saves to keep the Colonials within striking distance of Niagara until a goal with less than three minutes remaining broke the tie. An empty-net goal sealed the deal for the Purple Eagles, but the four goals allowed by Shafer would be the only pucks to get behind him in the two-game series.
On Saturday, Shafer stole the show during the program's Military Appreciation Night with a 44-save shutout of Niagara as the Colonials earned a 5-0 victory. Shafer faced a minimum of 13 shots in each period and stopped all ten shot that the Purple Eagles had on the power play. The shutout was Shafer's third in his career at Robert Morris and second in a span of six games this season.
"I thought [Terry] was outstanding," said head coach Derek Schooley after the 5-0 shutout on Saturday. "He made every save we needed and mixed in a couple big saves while not giving up a lot of rebounds."
Even Dave Burkholder, Niagara's head coach, was impressed with Shafer, "without a doubt, [Shafer] was the best player on the ice for both teams."
In the three weeks that Shafer has earned the Goaltender of the Week award from the AHA he has a record of 4-1-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average, a .947 save percentage, and two shutouts.
Shafer now has a record of 12-12-4 this season with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
RMU returns to action on Friday with a home contest against Canisius starting at 7:05 p.m. for the first of two games against the Golden Griffins in a home-and-home series.
