Northeastern University netminder and Cowichan Valley Capitals grad Chris Rawlings stopped 38 shots in Northeastern's NCAA-leading sixth-consecutive victory on Dec. 10 over UMass Lowell, 3-2, yielding another Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week Award for the Huskies' third-year netminder.
Rawlings' defensive decoration is the fourth consecutive occasion in which a Husky has been honoured by the league. The North Delta native has been recognized for his defensive play three times this season. He has collected eight Hockey East awards for his career, six of them being Defensive Player of the Week.
The 6-foot-5 goalie is in the midst one of the greatest stretches of his tenure with the Huskies after winning his career-best sixth-straight contest this past Saturday. Through Rawlings' last six starts, he has compiled a 6-0-0 record with a 1.28 goals against average and a .958 save percentage.
Nationally speaking, Rawlings owns the eighth-best save percentage in the country through the weekend of Dec. 9-10. Rawlings has stopped 471-of-505 for a .933 save percentage. Rawlings has surrendered a scant 2.30 goals per game, good for 23rd in the nation and third best in Hockey East.
If Rawlings maintains his rate of a .933 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average, he will finish with Northeastern's best marks for a season in school history. Fellow BCHL alum and Husky grad Brad Thiessen's marks of .931 and 2.40 during the 2008-09 season carried the Huskies to their fourth showing in the NCAA Tournament.
