This winter will be Evan Crawford’s one and only chance to be the No. 1 man in net at University.
That — not to mention the winding road on which he’s been to get to Hunting Valley and the support he enjoys — is not lost on the Preppers’ senior goaltender, who has maximized that chance to be sure.
Crawford is a News-Herald player of the week after leading US to a 3-1 record in its annual MLK weekend trek to the Mark Rasmus Memorial Invitational in Sylvania.
Over those four games, the Preppers yielded two goals, with Crawford recording 67 saves, including a pair of shutouts against Sylvania Northview and Toledo St. John’s — a much-needed boost heading into the stretch run.
“I think it even goes back to the St. Edward games,” Crawford said, alluding to a Great Lakes Hockey League home-and-home with the Eagles that yielded two fairly competitive losses. “As a team, we’ve solidified our play. We’re really working well as a team. And that’s really how we win. We haven’t really won a game this year without contributions from everyone. It’s not just me only letting in two goals.
“Even though I had two shutouts, I really count those as team stats, because my defense really just made it easy for me not letting in goals those two games.”
Albeit a normality in hockey, navigating four games in three days is not the easiest dynamic, goaltenders included.
Out-of-town holiday tournaments also provide, in addition to that on-ice volume, the chance to build camaraderie in a meaningful way.
“For me, it’s just about relaxing,” Crawford said of that game traffic. “I try not to think about the next game. I take my time resting and recovering from the last game. And as soon we get to the rink, just locking in mentally to be ready and go through my usual routine.
“The bus rides. The hotel rooms. We all have so much fun as a team. We actually get a lot closer, and it shows on the ice. We trust each other. We know each other on and off the ice.”
Last winter, Crawford’s first season with the Preppers, he was in a netminding timeshare, with 230 saves and a 2.73 goals-against average.
This year, as the primary No. 1 goaltender, he’s had 484 saves, a solid 92.5 save percentage and a sterling 1.93 GAA through Jan. 16.
Crawford has been playing in goal since he was 7. He grew up in Connecticut watching the Rangers and their star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and “fell in love” with being a goalie from the start. He moved to Northeast Ohio in time for his junior campaign a year ago.
This is his one and only chance to be a starting netminder at the high school level, and he’s savoring it.
“Coaches kept me positive last year when I was sharing the net, and they told me to just look forward to this year,” Crawford said. “They’ve been all-in on me, giving me the support. The confidence boost from last year to this year has been amazing. I feel so much more confident in net that I can just play my game and not have to worry about another kid taking my spot. Kind of relaxing and getting comfortable in the net.
“I had family here in Strongsville and US — I wasn’t really getting much playing time back in Connecticut, and US just seemed like a great school and hockey program to come to.”
