SteelHounds looking for one steady goalie

Experience favors Brad Roberts, who played in 41 games in 2006-2007.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown SteelHounds are enjoying their best start in their three years in the Central Hockey League.

But despite a 17-6-1 record that includes 19 road games, the Mississippi RiverKings are right on their tails. At 16-6-1 and with a game in hand, the RiverKings are just two points behind the SteelHounds in the Northeast Division race, easily the CHL’s top division this season. (Last-place Texas is six games above .500 and just eight points out of first place.)

And that makes the SteelHounds goaltending situation all the more interesting as Coach Kevin Kaminski is watching to see if Brad Roberts or Layne Sedevie can emerge as the team’s top netminder.

A month ago, there was no question who was the SteelHounds’ best goalie — Andy Franck.

The former Wheeling Nailer started 14 of the team’s first 16 games, winning 11 of them. One of the losses came in overtime which earned the SteelHounds a point in the standings. His goals-against average was 2.40 as he made 346 saves for a saves percentage of .911.

But on Nov. 28, Franck was called up to the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins. (In hockey, the AHL is comparable to baseball’s AAA International League, which is one step below the major leagues.)

And it doesn’t appear Franck will be returning to the CHL anytime soon. In eight games for the Bruins, Franck has a 7-1-0 record, having made 169 saves for a percentage of .885.

That means the SteelHounds will be relying on Sedevie, a first-year professional, and Roberts, the team’s top goalie last season, to remain in first place. Heading into tonight’s game in Tulsa, Okla., against the Oilers, both have 3-2-0 records.

Experience favors Roberts. As a rookie, the 25-year-old netminder played in 41 games for the SteelHounds in the 2006-07 season. He went 23-12-4 with a goals-against average of 2.95 and a save percentage of .895.

Roberts, who played collegiately for Army, played in five of the SteelHounds’ six playoff games against the Colorado Eagles, posting a 2-2 record.

Last Saturday, Roberts had his best game of this season, limiting the Texas Brahmas to two goals in a 5-2 victory at the Chevrolet Centre.

“It does seem like it’s been a long time,” said Roberts of playing in front of a home crowd. “We have been on the road for so long and I didn’t play in the first four here.”

Before making his first home start (his first in eight months since the playoffs), Roberts and Kaminski talked strategy after the morning skate.

“I had a good pregame skate then sat down with Coach to talk about tactics,” Roberts said.

Kaminski said boosting Roberts’ confidence was his goal in the session he had with Roberts and forward Mark Johnson.

“It was mostly about little things technically [like] making sure he kept himself square to the puck and making himself big. When you’re a smaller goalie, you’ve got to know your angles and you’ve got to have that presence where you take away the net [to] make yourself [like] a 6-foot-4 goalie.

“We only gave up 19 shots, but he made some key saves,” Kaminski said of Roberts’ home win. “He did make himself big tonight.”

Before the SteelHounds left for Tulsa, Kaminski said he had not yet decided whether Roberts of Sedevie would start. Saturday, the SteelHounds’ fifth road trip since mid-October ends with a division game against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in Louisiana.

After the team returns to Ohio on Sunday, Kaminski is giving them a four-day holiday break. Their next home games will be Dec. 28-29 against the RiverKings at the Chevrolet Centre.

williams@vindy.com