Lucas Punkari
For Fort Frances native Ryan Faragher, the transition into university life at St. Cloud State has been going great not only in the classroom but out on the ice.
Faragher, a freshman goalie for the Huskies’ hockey team who is majoring in sociology, has started in five of St. Cloud’s first 10 games this season.
He sports a 2-2-1 record, with a 2.19 GAA, following a win and a tie in action this past weekend against the visiting Wisconsin Badgers.
“So far things here have been going great,” Faragher enthused.
“The practices have been going well leading into the games, as we’ve been training every day, and the classes have also been going well so far.
“It was kind of weird to be getting back into school and all that after being away for a few years, but now I’m getting into the grove and I’m just settling into the college life,” he added.
The 21-year-old got his first taste of NCAA Division I hockey on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Marquette, Mich., getting the start between the pipes in the Huskies’ 3-2 loss to the Northern Michigan Wildcats.
“It was a little nerve-wracking leading up to that game as I didn’t know just what to expect,” Faragher admitted.
“I had obviously practised with the guys beforehand, but I hadn’t got a chance to see too much of the other team’s [Northern Michigan’s] game film, so it was nice to see them play on the Friday night to see exactly how they played and what their systems were like,” he noted.
“As soon as the game started, I had the butterflies and things like that, and it didn’t take too long for [Northern Michigan] to score their first goal on a little bit of a floater.
“But after that first goal, I felt more comfortable out there and I was able to make a couple of big saves to help me get my confidence up, and also give the guys a chance to win,” added Faragher, who made 20 saves in his collegiate debut.
While going into a first college start on the road always is a daunting task, the next series of starts for Faragher ended up being at one of college hockey’s most well-known facilities in the Ralph Engelstad Arena versus the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
With regular starting goalie and Phoenix Coyotes’ prospect Mike Lee out with a lower-body injury, Faragher was a late replacement to get the start in goal for that weekend series on Oct. 28 and 29.
The Fort Frances product had a feeling, however, that he might get the start for those games.
“I kind of had a hunch on Thursday that he [Lee] had hurt himself as he wasn’t at practice or anything, and it was right about then that I started to prepare for the weekend as if I was going to be playing,” Faragher recalled.
“Coach [Bob Motzko] mentioned it to everyone on Friday morning at our pre-game skate that I was going to be starting, and even though I kind of knew inside that it could happen, he didn’t say anything until game time as that is the way he does things.”
Going into one of the most hostile arenas in all of NCAA hockey proved to be no big issue for the freshman as he turned aside all 44 shots that came his way to earn his first-ever college win and first-ever college shutout.
“It was a great environment to get my first win, for sure,” enthused Faragher, who tied a St. Cloud record with 24 saves in the second period.
“It was especially big for me to be back in North Dakota, as well, as I had played my last two seasons there [with the NAHL’s Bismarck Bobcats] and I knew that there was a lot of people back in Bismarck who were watching the game on TV.
“It was really special for me to get my first win and shutout in my first WCHA conference game, and I was really happy to have my parents [Darcy and Penny], my girlfriend [Kristen Leet of Bismarck], and some other members of my family there to see it happen,” he added.
Then on the Saturday night, Faragher played strong once again as he made 23 saves. But unfortunately for him, the Huskies wound up coming out on the losing end of 3-1 decision to the Fighting Sioux.
“I felt like I didn’t really change anything from the night before, as I was just trying to keep things simple and trying to get in front of the puck,” he explained.
“It just so happened that our guys didn’t really pick up our offence until the third period, and we also took some bad penalties in the second period that North Dakota was able to capitalize on.
“That’s just that way the game goes sometimes, I guess,” he sighed.
Faragher’s 67-save performance during the weekend series was duly rewarded a few days later as he was named the WCHA’s rookie of the week, which was something he was unaware of until his teammates came to congratulate him.
“I didn’t really know anything about it until the guys all found out on Twitter and things like that,” he noted.
“It feels nice to be rewarded for my work during the weekend and all of that, but to me it’s more a team award than anything else.
“The guys played great in front of me on Friday night, and they allowed me to do what I was able to accomplish,” he reasoned.
Faragher feels one of the key factors to his early success with the Huskies comes from his time spent with the Bobcats, where he won the Robertson Cup in 2010.
“Playing my junior hockey in the NAHL has definitely helped me out with the speed aspect of things,” he said.
“Although there is another step up with the speed and the skill of the players at the college level, playing in Bismarck got me ready for that jump so that it wasn’t such a huge difference for me to try and adjust to quickly.”
Faragher also believes the guidance and advice he’s been given thus far from St. Cloud State goaltending coach Dave Rogalski also has been key to helping to improve his game early in his tenure with the Huskies.
“Something that I have picked up on from working with him is just making myself look a lot bigger,” remarked Faragher, who stands 6’2” and weighs in at 205 pounds.
“I have a big body to begin with but before I had made myself look kind of small out there, and now Dave has helped me to present myself bigger in the net.
“I’m also now waiting for the shots to come to me instead of trying to reach for them, and I’m just being more patient overall, which are things that I would like to keep improving on as the season continues.”
Heading into this weekend’s games on the road against Minnesota State, the Huskies have a 4-4-2 record (2-1-1 in conference play) and currently sit in eighth place in the 12-team WCHA standings.
Looking ahead, Faragher is hoping to continue to play well, and also looks to feed off the energy from the St. Cloud State fans in future home starts.
“Even when you are not starting, it’s a really cool experience,” he enthused. “The rink is really loud, especially with it being just pure cement, and we have a great student section that is always energetic.
“That always get you pumped up, but you just have to approach it like it’s just another game,” he stressed.
