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Goaltenders usually end up facing a few dozen shots over the course of a typical hockey game. However, one netminder who was tasked with patrolling the crease for a high school team in New Jersey had to deal with a deluge that led to him setting a state record in a loss that could have been much more lopsided if he hadn’t risen to the occasion.
Most NHL teams record between 25 and 30 shots per game, and the average goaltender stops around 90% of the one that end up on net. Those numbers can vary a bit depending on the levels of skill involved, but there is a fairly defined level of parity in a league that features the best hockey players on the planet.
That talent divide can be much, much wider at lower tiers of the game, and that’s certainly true when it comes to the high school level. It’s much easier for star players to take over against a squad that’s largely powerless to stop them, and things can get particularly out of hand if the outmatched team is relying on a goaltender that’s out of their depth.
However, they can also stick around in a game that has no business being close if a goalie is able to stand on their head, which was certainly the case in a recent contest in New Jersey that may have resulted in a new state record for saves.
A high school hockey goalie in New Jersey seemingly set a state record by saving 104 shots in a game
The boys’ hockey team at Mountain Lakes-Boonton was sitting at 6-4 when it headed to Vernon Township High School for a showdown with the 3-9-1 Vikings on January 31st, and they added another tally to the win column with a 4-0 victory on the road.
According to NJ.com, Vernon goaltender Klaus Harthaus had become very accustomed to dealing with a deluge of shots during the 33 games he’d played heading into that contest, as the sophomore had recorded an average of 54.7 saves per game.
That number grew to north of 56 by the time everything was said and done on Saturday, as Harthaus may have set a state record with the 104 saves he was credited with during a contest that could have gotten out of hand if not for what his coach described as “the greatest goalie performance in high school hockey that I’ve ever seen.”
The craziest part is that the score was still tied at zero when the third period got underway, as Harthaus managed to stop the first 72 shots he faced before surrendering a goal on the 73rd. He didn’t get much help from his teammate on the offensive front, as Vernon was outshot 108-4 before things came to a merciful end.
The outlet was unable to confirm that the 104 saves were officially a New Jersey state record, but it couldn’t find a higher total while noting no goalie had been credited with more than 100 saves in the past 16 years.
Vernon fell to 3-11-1 on the season with a 5-2 loss to Morris Catholic on Monday, but Harthaus got a bit of respite after stopping 32 of the 37 shots he ended up facing.