Freshman goalie earns CCHA Rookie of the Week

Minnesota State, Mankato’s freshman goaltender laced up his skates for his first start in his collegiate hockey career and shut out a rival powerhouse that earned him CCHA Rookie of the Week. 

Goalie Alex Tracy played his first two games versus the No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs which ended in a clean sweep for the Mavericks.

  His first game took place Oct. 14 which ended in a high-scoring shutout as the final score was 6-0. Tracy’s second game Oct. 15 ended in a closer score of 2-1, with the Mavericks finishing on top in both. 

Tracy saw 32 shots come his way over the series versus the Bulldogs but allowed only one to go past him. With an impressive ratio of 32:1 on shots this earned him CCHA’s Rookie of the Week. 

Tracy previously played junior hockey for the Sioux City Musketeers where he was named the 2021-22 playoff MVP for playing a key role in his team’s Clark Cup championship-winning season. For the Musketeers, he had a .896 save percentage and was named a part of the USHL third-team all-star selection. 

“It was definitely really interesting to go from juniors to college, it really amped up the intensity and the pace of play,” said Tracy. 

With this change, he had a very successful start. Despite this great start, Tracy is still battling it out for the starting spot at goaltender. Sophomore Keenan Rancier started the first series against the Minnesota Gophers and went 1-1 in the series. 

Coach Mike Hastings didn’t have a clear answer about the roles going forward. 

“If I were to rewind these last two weeks, I didn’t know I would go back-to-back games with Rancier and then go back-to-back with Tracy next week. Those guys through their play influenced my decision and so I think I am going to stay with that right now until someone really steps forward and takes it,” said Hastings.

Tracy is ready to battle it out and he just wants whoever gets the starting role to go out and perform. 

“We are taking it one day at a time and making ourselves as ready as possible for the weekend so that no matter whose number is called we are ready to go,” said Tracy.

With Tracy winning the CCHA Rookie of the Week and Rancier being right next to him competing for the starting spot, the Mavs have a promising young core of competitors for the upcoming years. It is a big role trying to fill Dryden McKay’s shoes, but with time one of these two will step up to the plate.

With that being said, Hastings has trust in these two and is waiting for one to shine and take the spot. These two will continue to mentor and help each other with one common goal in mind: to stop pucks and win.

Header Photo: Alex Tracy #33 is one of three goalies on the MSU Men’s Hockey team. (Dylan Engel/The Reporter)

Write to Luke Jackson at Luke.Jackson@mnsu.edu