Goalie for next year

It's not the gray hairs on your head that upset you. Think lower.

[Q]Jeff Hopkins '82 Wrote:

It's not the gray hairs on your head that upset you. Think lower.[/q]

um...chest hair?

Keep going

FWIW...

Based on GAA, DiLeo ranks 14th in the NAHL. The top two goalies are Jason Kearney (?) and Ben Bishop (UMaine). Here's how Dan compares in some categories:

GAA:
Kearney, 1.80
Bishop, 1.90
DiLeo, 2.98

SV%:
Kearney, .924
Bishop, .922
DiLeo, .913

SVs:
DiLeo, 1009
Bishop, 904
Kearney, 705

SOs:
Kearney, 6
Bishop, 5
DiLeo, 1

He's 8th in SV%, which seems a lot more respectable..and looking at some team stats, it looks like Wichita isn't much of a defensive team.

Kearney plays for Soo, they've got the #1 PK in the league. Bishop plays for Texas, which has the #2 PK in the league. Wichita Falls is 16th. Clearly your goalie plays a big part in penalty killing, but I think we can get some idea of what the defense is like from those numbers.

The other goalie on DiLeo's team has an .887 sv% and a 3.54 GAA.

[Q]pfibiger Wrote:

He's 8th in SV%, which seems a lot more respectable..and looking at some team stats, it looks like Wichita isn't much of a defensive team.[/q]

I felt a lot better after looking at some of those stats, too. WF doesn't appear to be one of the better defense teams in the league. At least he's getting a lot of practice down there.

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No Rush, No Worries

Three years of junior hockey is a long road to take waiting for the right D-I opportunity to come along, but for 20 year-old Wichita Falls (NAHL) netminder Dan DiLeo, who on Thursday committed to Cornell, he hasn't an ounce of regret.

"I know I'm an older kid whose committing late in the season, but looking back, I wouldn't change a thing," says DiLeo. "Junior hockey is a great experience, and really, it's like pro hockey but without the money. The seasons are long, but they give you an opportunity to learn about hockey, and about yourself. It's great when kids commit at 17, but there's so much to learn. For me, I've had three years to do that, and as a result, I feel more than prepared going into Cornell for next season."

DiLeo is a well spoken and intelligent young man who scored a 29 on his ACT, which on its own, of course, makes him Ivy League material. On the ice, he considers himself a student of netminding, and has trained over several summers with pre-eminent goaltending coach Bill Howard, a long-time assistant with the Wisconsin Badgers.

"Bill's goaltending philosophy suits me well," says DiLeo, "it's not butterfly all the time, it's more situational. The time and distance you have to work with, depending upon the play, is what dictates whether you stay up or down."

1 Dan DiLeo
Team Logo 	Player Photo 	
PROFILE:
Birthday: 	Sep 10, 1984
Hometown: 	St. Louis MO
Position: 	G
Height: 	5-11
Weight: 	173
D-I: Cornell (ECACHL)

REGULAR SEASON
YEAR 		TEAM 		GP 	MIN 		W 	L 	OTL 	SO 	GA 	GAA 	SV 	SV%
2004/2005 	Wichita Falls 	19 	1117:11 	10 	4 	5 	0 	57 	3.06 	584 	0.911
2004/2005 	Fargo-Moorhead 	15 	880:55 		11 	3 	1 	1 	42 	2.86 	456 	0.916

Either way, it's working. DiLeo came to Wichita Falls in January (via trade) from the Fargo-Moorhead Jets, where he was serving as a back-up to Andrew Stricker. Looking for more ice time, and with the Wildcats in dire need of some experience between the pipes, Dileo became the answer, and then some.

"We were a game under .500 when Dan got here," explains Wildcats' head coach Brian Meisner, "and now he's helped us make a playoff run. He's very competitive, he works very hard, and he's really taken advantage of the opportunity."

From St. Louis, DiLeo skated for the AAA Junior Blues organization before playing with the Minnesota Junior Hockey League's Northwest Knights in 2002-2003. He then went onto Fargo--where he spent all of last year--before coming to Wichita Falls two months ago.

"I love it here," DiLeo says. "Once I got here I was joking with some of my old buddies in Fargo. When I left Fargo it was 30 below, and here it was 60 degrees and guys were running around in shorts. If a kid wanted to play junior hockey, there couldn't be a better place to play. You get to play in a world-class facility (8,000 seat Kay Yeager Coliseum), and there are great coaches here. It's the total package."

What with sophomore David McKee (Texas Tornado) lighting it up in net for the Big Red this year (a league record 10 shutouts, a 1.21 GAA and in contention for the Hobey Baker award), where and how will Dileo fit into Cornell's plans? Simple. Freshman Troy Davenport left the club earlier this year (returning to the USHL with Des Moines), while junior keeper Louis Chabot has played but one game in three years. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is obviously looking for depth in goal, and is also keenly aware of his club's historical string of netminding successes, where kids like David LeNeveu and Jean-Marc Pelletier played brilliantly before choosing to leave school early for the professional ranks.

"For all my experience in juniors, I'll be a rookie all over again next year," says DiLeo, "while my strength is my work ethic, I'm going to have to adjust to the speed of the college game. It will be faster, and with no red line, I'm sure there will be more odd-man rushes. It will be an adjustment for sure, but one I'm looking forward to."

Two years ago, from an attendance standpoint, Wichita Falls was the toast of the NAHL, averaging nearly 6,000 fans per game. Many of those tickets were 'freebies' however, and then ownership problems left a sour taste in many people's mouth. Enter new owner Rick Brodsky, who for many years has successfully owned and operated the WHL's Prince George (BC) Cougars. Brodsky and company have brought stability back to the franchise, which is this year averaging 1,874 fans, second best in the NAHL behind the Texas Tornado's 3,709. Wichita Falls was once known as the Rustlers, but Brodsky changed it to Wildcats, mirroring the name of his WHL franchise.

[Q]says DiLeo, "while my strength is my work ethic,[/Q]Well, coach will like that.