It may have taken a couple of months, but it appears Bobby Goepfert has landed on his feet. The former Providence goaltender, who was released for what the school called a violation of team rules, will transfer to St. Cloud State for this coming fall semester.
Goepfert will have to sit out one full season in order to comply with the NCAA’s rules regarding Division I transfers. He can officially suit up for the Huskies as a junior in the 2005-06 season, but will be allowed to practice with the team this year.
“I’m just happy it’s done and over with and I can move on and look forward to next year,” Goepfert said. “It’s going to be a great place to play hockey.”
He’ll get to soon, after purchasing his plane ticket today to fly into Minnesota on Aug. 31. The Huskies start practice shortly after.
St. Cloud State head coach Craig Dahl isn’t allowed to comment on incoming transfer students, but did hint that the competition for the spot in goal will be a heated one. Dahl already has two somewhat proven goaltenders for this season in Jason Montgomery and Tim Boron, but both had inconsistent rides last season which led to the emergence of Adam Coole. Coole came to St. Cloud in a similar situation to that of Goepfert, transferring to St. Cloud from Minnesota-Duluth, but graduated in May with a year of eligibility remaining and decided not to return.
“I was told that I’ll have a chance to compete for a job and that’s what I was looking for,” said Goepfert.
If he can put up similar numbers to the ones he did in Providence, he’ll have a pretty good shot at starting for the Huskies in 2005.
Goepfert appeared in 49 games over his two-year stint with the Friars, going 21-15-4 with a .921 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average. He also was a member of the U.S. World Junior team in 2002-03 where he posted a .937 save percentage that ranks second in team history, and 1.77 goals per game.
His dismissal from Providence in May caught the 5-foot-10 netminder off guard. He blamed the release on a lack of communication than anything else.
“I was blamed for plagiarizing on a paper that I turned in because I forgot to turn in a bibliography with it,” said Goepfert. “I pulled an all-nighter on the paper and just forgot, my teacher was one of the Deans of the English department and he immediately called Paul [Pooley, the Friars’ head coach]. I got a call that afternoon from Paul telling me I was kicked off the team.”
He went on to say that it was probably his fault, but he’s now looking at that unfortunate incident as a “blessing in disguise.”
“St. Cloud just seemed comfortable and now I get a chance to play for a great team with some great guys in a great league,” said Goepfert. “Everyone knows how good the WCHA is.”
