While Trinity fell short in winning their first national title since 2015 in Saturday’s championship game against Hobart, their stellar sophomore goaltender, Devon Bobak was the biggest part of the equation in helping take the Bantams to a NESCAC championship, a No.2 ranking in the country and a 25-win season that has earned him the USCHO D-III Men’s Hockey Player of the Year.
Bobak played in all 30 games for the Bantams this season recording a 25-4-1 record with seven shutouts. He posted a miniscule 1.18 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in backstopping Trinity to the Frozen Four where they downed Adrian, 2-1 before losing to Hobart, 2-0 in the title game.
“Devon is a special kid,” noted head coach Matt Greason. “No doubt he has been our most valuable player this season giving us a chance to win every game. He is a super humble kid and doesn’t like the individual recognition and attention that comes with it. If I have given him a post-game recognition in the room, he wants me to give it to someone else. He is really thrilled to be here at Trinity and successfully juggles not only the academics and hockey but also two part-time jobs that help him be part of the Trinity experience.”
Bobak should be used to honors at this point of the season having been named the NESCAC Player of the year, a first team All-American and most recently, the winner of the Sid Watson Award recognizing the nation’s best player at the D-II/III level.
“Devon is both big and athletic,” said Greason. “Usually at this level we see one more than the other and both is something that doesn’t come around often at his skill level. I know it is easy to put labels on goalies, but he really is a very “normal” kid and part of the team and has been a major part of our success this year in only his second season at Trinity.”
Bobak surrendered just 35 goals on the entire season and just six goals when his team was shorthanded frustrating opponents throughout the season at crucial times during games. His seven shutouts this season along with five from his first year establish a new career high for Trinity netminders with still two seasons available to extend the shutout record and probably several others in backstopping future Bantam teams.
Stay tuned for off-season news (there is likely to be a lot related to league shuffling again this summer) and other D-II/III items of interest on the site. Special thanks to Brian Lester, Chris Sugar, Russell Jaslow for all their contributions during the season as well as all the coaches, players and SIDs that were so generous with their time, information and passion for the great game of college hockey.
