MINNEAPOLIS — A few days after he was one of 41 players on the watch list for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to college hockey’s top goalie, Minnesota Gophers puck-stopper Justen Close was one of just three players honored by the Big Ten for his body of work last weekend.
Close, who stopped 38 Notre Dame shots in a 3-0 road win on Saturday for his fourth clean sheet of the season, was honored by the conference with its second star of the week. The blanking of the Irish by Close was the seventh of his career, all of which have come in the past 12 months, after he took over the Gophers’ starting goalie duties following Jack LaFontaine’s abrupt departure for pro hockey in January 2022.
The 38-save effort included thwarting a trio of Notre Dame breakaways in the second period. He backstopped a come-from-behind 2-2 tie with the Irish in the series opener on Friday.
“Justen Close was outstanding in goal, and he had to be for us to get the win,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said following the Saturday game at Compton Family Ice Arena. “We survived tonight with a hard-fought 3-0 win, but that was because our goalie was so good.”
Now leading the Big Ten in both goals-against average (1.97) and saves percentage (.925), Close has been honored by the conference three times this season, and four times in his career.
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🏒 Your #B1GHockey Three Stars:
— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) January 17, 2023
⭐️ @MSU_Hockey's Jagger Joshua, F
⭐️⭐️ @GopherHockey's Justen Close, G
⭐️⭐️⭐️ @NDHockey's Ryan Bischel, G
🔗 More on their accomplishments: https://t.co/PzA8x9wYRz pic.twitter.com/nbOIg1y4xE
