Words About Goalers

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The VHL's nicest season has been dominated from a goalie standpoint by one man, Riga's Kallis Kriketers. Krik won back-to-back Shaw trophies in Seasons 65 and 66, then saw rising competition take him out of the top spot in his last two seasons. His performance in his seventh season would be his finest, as his 0.931 save percentage shattered his previous career high, while his 11 shutouts this year are also a career best mark for him. With a definite third Shaw award coming to Krik, he has likely cemented his place in the VHL Hall-of-Fame with a strong stretch of play that could extend into his final season next year.

 

The closest thing to competition for Kriketers this season comes in the form of two young goalies, Ray Funk and A Red Guy. Funk and ARG posted the same save percentage, but Funk had 8 shutouts to ARG's 5 so considering how close they are, that would likely be the deciding factor in saying Funk finished second for the Shaw this season if you wanted to hand out awards to the top losers of it. Funk's career trajectory has been strong to this point, with his rookie season in S67 ending in a Stolzy and his second season concluding with a Cup win and a Kanou. He would need to lead the Bears to another cup in order to win an award this season most likely, but his first three seasons have already brought an encouraging amount of hardware. A Red Guy, on the other hand, could have a case for the Most Improved Player award (interestingly enough, the Funk trophy) after going from one of the worst starting goalies in his rookie season to one of the best goalies this season and a key part to New York's strong second half.