Player Profile : Ben Bishop, U. of Maine .
Left: Ben Bishop stands 6'7" and covers a mile of real estate
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This weekend the University of Maine will feature two goaltenders who bear similiarities to DU's goalie tandem last season. Sophmore Matt Lundin saw little playing time behind All-American Jimmy Howard and Freshman Ben Bishop comes in highly regarded. Lundin has the advantage of learning and training under Howard and scouting every Hockey East opponent. Bishop led almost every catagory in the NAHL and won a championship with the Texas Tornado.
Like DU's Paul Stastny & Freshman Chris Butler, Biship hails from St. Louis, Missouri. In 2003-04 he played for the St. Louis AAA Amateur Blues Midget Majors. Like Chris Butler, he attended Chaminade College Prep. Bishop was selected in the third round (85th overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft by the hometown St. Louis Blues.
The first thing that fans will notice about Biship is that he stands 6-7 and weighs 217 lbs. That might lead one to think that be is susceptible down low, but he would not of risen to this level if he had an obvious deficiency in his game. Maine and CC fans last weekend said that he got down well and played an exceptional game against the Tigers. He distributed the puck efficiently and kept the Black Bears in the game. Bishop had a highlight reel save on Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich in the Third Period on a one-on-one to force the game into overtime.
This weekend the University of Maine will feature two goaltenders who bear similiarities to DU's goalie tandem last season. Sophmore Matt Lundin saw little playing time behind All-American Jimmy Howard and Freshman Ben Bishop comes in highly regarded. Lundin has the advantage of learning and training under Howard and scouting every Hockey East opponent. Bishop led almost every catagory in the NAHL and won a championship with the Texas Tornado.
Like DU's Paul Stastny & Freshman Chris Butler, Biship hails from St. Louis, Missouri. In 2003-04 he played for the St. Louis AAA Amateur Blues Midget Majors. Like Chris Butler, he attended Chaminade College Prep. Bishop was selected in the third round (85th overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft by the hometown St. Louis Blues.
The first thing that fans will notice about Biship is that he stands 6-7 and weighs 217 lbs. That might lead one to think that be is susceptible down low, but he would not of risen to this level if he had an obvious deficiency in his game. Maine and CC fans last weekend said that he got down well and played an exceptional game against the Tigers. He distributed the puck efficiently and kept the Black Bears in the game. Bishop had a highlight reel save on Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich in the Third Period on a one-on-one to force the game into overtime.
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Since a butterfly goalie goes down often before the shot is taken, low may not be where you want to attack Bishop. With his tremendous leg span that area is covered. DU's attacking style that evolved last season may be perfectly suited to go after Bishop. Lots of havoc in front of the net and close in shots brought home the National Championship for the Pioneers. I'm sure Denver will try similar tactics this weekend. I think Paul Stastny will have a big weekend for DU. Stastny should have fun (if not a field day) on the power play sitting on Bishop's hip.
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Bishop will be tested by DU this weekend. Will he play as well as he did in his debut last weekend? Will DU have to resort to the old "UND Water Bottle Trick" to rattle Bishop? We'll find out this weekend and it will be fun to watch.
BISHOP'S KEY STATS: Last season played in 45 games for the Texas Tornado of the NAHL with a 35-8 overall record ... He posted five shutouts and had a 1.93 goals against average and a .920 save percentage ... He led the NAHL in wins and was second in shutouts and goals against ... Texas Tornado won the 2005 NAHL Championship under coach Tony Curtale ... Bishop was named to the NAHL first team All-Rookie Team ... Also earned the Texas Tornado Rookie of the Year Award ...
BISHOP'S KEY STATS: Last season played in 45 games for the Texas Tornado of the NAHL with a 35-8 overall record ... He posted five shutouts and had a 1.93 goals against average and a .920 save percentage ... He led the NAHL in wins and was second in shutouts and goals against ... Texas Tornado won the 2005 NAHL Championship under coach Tony Curtale ... Bishop was named to the NAHL first team All-Rookie Team ... Also earned the Texas Tornado Rookie of the Year Award ...
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