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December 22, 2009

From the waiting game to the hockey game

By Shane Frederick

During his first season of junior hockey, goaltender Tyler Bruggeman got to play in just one game.

He had forgone his senior season at Mankato West to play for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League, and he practiced every day with the first-year team, waiting for those opportunities that never came.

For some, it was the kind of experience that might have ended with a pair of shin pads in a garbage can and a pair of skates left to rust on the garage floor.

But that wasn’t Bruggeman’s style.

“I was frustrated that I didn’t get to play,” he said this week while on break from his current team, the North American Hockey League’s St. Louis Bandits. “But I told myself that, this year, every chance I get, I’m going to be the best player on the ice. Not just the best goalie.”

Bruggeman began this season in Alaska with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs but was traded to St. Louis after eight games.

Since the trade, the 18-year-old is 6-1-1 with a .951 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average. Overall, he ranks third in the NAHL in save percentage and is tied for sixth in goals allowed. This week, he was named the league’s goaltender of the week for the second time this season.

“Tyler has been a huge presence for us since we acquired him,” Bandits assistant coach Rocky Russo said in a league press release. “His performance has allowed us to feel even more comfortable with (Garrett Bartus’) decision to move on. His teammates trust that he can bring a consistent effort every night.”

Bartus, who ranks near Bruggeman in the NAHL statistics, is heading to the University of Connecticut after the break.

Bruggeman has hopes of playing Division I college hockey, too. He said that schools have shown a little bit of interest, but he might have to play another season of junior hockey after this one.

“My ultimate goal is to play professionally,” he said. “You have to take steps to get there, so right now, my focus is on a D-I scholarship.”

The NAHL has produced its share of college goaltenders. Minnesota State has two, including sophomore Austin Lee and freshman Phil Cook, and when the Owatonna Express Mike Shibrowski joins Colorado College after the break, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will have six others.

For now, Bruggeman is enjoying his stay in St. Louis. Besides the playing time, he’s living with a family with an 11-year-old son who also happens to be a goalie.

“I go out and skate with his team,” Bruggeman said. “I try to pass on a lot of stuff that (goalie coach) Des (Christopher) has taught me. He’s even going to come to Mankato this summer for a goalie camp.”

While this year has been a much more positive experience for him, Bruggeman has no bad feelings about what he was — or wasn’t doing — in Fargo.

“Last year was a big building year for me, not only playing-wise but mentally,” he said. “It helped me grow up and realize that life has its ups and downs. You have to battle through them, and, eventually, good things will happen.”



Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Click here to access his college hockey blog or e-mail him at sfrederick@mankatofreepress.com.

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