January 15, 2007
Fallon's Ride
by Matt Taylor/CHN Reporter
Joe Fallon's career at the University of Vermont started with a bang.
In just his fifth collegiate game, he made 29 saves at the DECC to upset then No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth, a first for the school. He followed that up the next night with a 40 save performance to earn another point for the Catamounts.
Life since has been very streaky for Fallon. For every 6-0 start last year, there's a 1-9-3 stretch to end it. In his career, he's gone from the ECAC to Hockey East along with the club, and has faced many skill players.
Fallon came onto the scene that October in 2004, and continued to play well throughout the year, in which Vermont posted 20 wins for the first time in eight years. The team was picked to finish 10th in the ECAC that year, but advanced to the ECAC Championships in Albany for the first time since the days of Martin St. Louis. He earned numerous accolades, including being named the ECAC Rookie of the Year and the national Rookie of the Month for November. Overall, he finished with a 17-10-4 record and a sub 2.00 GAA, good for ninth in the country.
His sophomore year started with a bang, firing off the aforementioned 6-0 streak which saw Vermont climb as high as third in the polls. He then struggled late and recorded just one win after mid-January as the Catamounts fizzled and he was pulled in the final game of their quarterfinal series against Boston College.
He came in refreshed this year and at one point fired off six straight wins before three straight losses against highly ranked teams in St. Cloud State and New Hampshire.
"Obviously the biggest difference this season is wins," the Bemidji, Minn., native said, as his 10 wins are only four behind last year's total for the season. "Wins are all I care about and the other stats really don't mean that much. It's all we're ultimately judged on."
Sometimes though it's not all about winning, it's about keeping your confidence up. Last weekend against UNH, Fallon gave up three goals in the first 10:56 of the game before being pulled for freshman Mike Spillane. Fallon returned for the third period and was spotless there.
"In the past, when he's had a tough performance, it's taken him a little while to shake it," said UVM head coach Kevin Sneddon. "I think a key coaching decision was to get him back in for the third period. It was important to see if he could rebound in the same game after a very tough start and I thought he played very well in the third and that gave him confidence to come back the next night and have an outstanding performance."
Fallon agrees that confidence is important to have between the pipes.
"Goaltending is so much about confidence. You have to have confidence in yourself, the other players, and the coaches," the soft spoken netminder commented. "That leads to streaks both good and bad."
One thing that might have contributed to Fallon's sophomore slump last year was Vermont's move from the ECAC to Hockey East, a league which features more offensive firepower. Fallon disagrees though.
"The whole league, not just the top four is really strong top to bottom, and the forwards are so skilled so it's a challenge," he remarked. "But in the end you still need to make the saves, no matter who you're playing."
The thought that it contributed also was disputed by Sneddon.
"We fell short of our team goals last year and Joe was only a part of that," the fifth-year coach said. "He has had poor performances much like any other student-athlete on our team, but the goaltender position is more noticeable and focused upon for certain."
This year though Vermont seems poised to break up the traditional of the "big four" in Hockey East (Maine, BC, UNH and Boston University). If they were to become the first outside those teams since Massachusetts in 2004 to host a quarterfinal series, it would be a big boost to the team, and Fallon would be a huge reason why.
"We had it once in my freshman year (ECAC vs. Dartmouth) and the fans were absolutely great as usual," said the junior. "We had a whiteout and although we lost the first game we won the next two and advanced, and the fans were a big part."
"We would love to, and plan to, become a program that competes for home ice each year. It is important for our program to showcase Hockey East playoffs to our great fans, and I think it would be a major positive for the league as well from several perspectives," Sneddon said.
As both know, a hot goalie can steal a game any night though and they may be only one hot streak away from their first NCAA appearance since 1996.
"I've been focused more this year. I know my commitment is to this team and going as far as we can," Fallon said.
Said Sneddon, "He's been the backbone of this program for the last three years."
The backbone of a team who might stand tall as Hockey East or maybe even the NCAAs this April.
