Denver @ Cornell

[dbilmes]

Gillam continues to impress me.  He's got a great glove, so fewer rebounds and less flopping around.

We've gotten spoiled with all of the excellent goaltending we've had, making it easy to take it for granted. But realistically, I don't think many of us expected Gillam to be playing so well as our No. 1 goalie. For all of the criticism Schafer takes on this forum for his failure to recruit high-scoring forwards, he has to get a lot of credit for recruiting outstanding goalies. I've seen Gillam play three times in person this season, and you could easily make the argument that in each of those games, he was our best player.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

It's the system.

[margolism]

Cornell #2 in nation in defense.  (.04 goals behind the leader)
Gillam #2 in nation in save %.  (.002% behind the leader)

As much as I really liked Iles, I feel a greater sense of confidence with Gillam between the pipes.  He just exudes calm and confidence, especially after giving up a goal (which doesn't seem to happen but once a game.)  Perhaps he doesn't feel the pressure a highly coveted blue chip goalie feels.

[Trotsky]

It's the system.

That's The System (TM)

[MattS]

I think one of the best things Gillam does is control rebounds. There aren't too many and a lot of them are into the corners and not directly in front. His positioning is far superior to Iles.

The Fiegl, Dias, Freschi line was great last night. Its too bad some of the high profile (draft picked) players don't work as hard as those three.

[Scersk '97]

As much as I really liked Iles, I feel a greater sense of confidence with Gillam between the pipes.  He just exudes calm and confidence...

Exactly how I feel. This kid is really good. Too bad... Niagara... last season... ::whistle::

I'm starting to notice how much his ability to move the puck (accurately and with authority) takes some pressure off our defense and makes our offense somewhat unpredictable. Yes, every once in a while, he gets us in trouble; thankfully, the defense is generally paying attention and bails him out. But how often opposing teams end up running around wildly after our power play because of these long outlets! And then there's the empty net situation—every time, now, I keep waiting for him to fling the puck down the ice and score.

He's a very exciting goalie, and I'm glad he's ours.

[margolism]

Gillam has more points (2) this season than 9 other (non-goalie) players.

[Iceberg]

Having a goaltender that can actually play the puck well enough is a very good thing for the kind of system that Schafer runs. Just ask anyone who watched the Devils when they were dominant.

[semsox]

Stewart in net tonight per Brandon Thomas.

https://twitter.com/BT_unassisted/status/541371807270715392

[Greenberg '97]

Sure, but for Saturday:

"Denver at Cornell
Everything I said about Friday night's matchup holds true again, but can the Red really keep the lid on DU's explosive offense? I wouldn't bet on a sweep. DU wins."

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/ecac-blog/2014/12/05/ecac-hockey-picks-dec-5-9/#ixzz3L2GMY6yE

And that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

[upprdeck]

too bad because Denver had about 1 min of play to do all the work they needed to score. 2 nice goals.