Published: February 17, 2009 11:55 pm      

Keserich snatches goaltender award

Solid team play often translates into individual honors.

That was the case on Tuesday, as the Johnstown Chiefs’ Ian Keserich earned ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors for Feb. 9-15. Keserich gladly accepted the recognition but preferred to credit his teammates for a 3-0-0 week that vaulted the Chiefs back into first place in the North Division.

“A lot of it has to do with how the team plays in front of me,” said Keserich, who had a 2.00 goals against average and .936 save percentage. “The guys are playing great. Because of that, the shots I’m seeing aren’t that challenging. The team’s been solid in front of me.”

After turning aside 36 of 38 shots in a 5-2 win against Reading on Friday, Keserich made 30 saves in a 3-2 win against Trenton on Saturday and stopped 23 shots in a 5-2 win against Wheeling on Sunday.

“It felt great to step off the ice and say, ‘Hey, we’re back in first place and I helped.’ The guys deserved it,” Keserich said. “We worked so hard the past two weeks. We had three games in three days and we won four of six in the past two weeks. We’ve been putting it together. Guys are jelling. Having (defenseman Trevor) Hendrikx back (from injury) is huge for me. I see less work when he is out there.”

Keserich, 23, has started six straight games (4-2-0) since all-star goalie Kris Mayotte was called up to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Ironically, Mayotte won ECHL Goaltender of the Week when he was summoned by the Bears on Feb. 3.

Selected in the seventh round (215th overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and under contract to Lake Erie of the AHL, Keserich is 11-9-0 with a shutout, 2.80 GAA and .910 save percentage in 21 games for Johnstown.

“I don’t have any expectations as far as being honored for playing hockey,” Keserich said, when asked if the weekly award surprised him.

“It’s an honor to play hockey in itself. I go out there and go to work.”