University of Minnesota Athletics
Minute-By-Minute: Sophomore Goaltender Kellen Briggs
1/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The tactic successfully employed by sophomore goalie Kellen Briggs is to break down the entire game into 60 one-minute periods. During every one of those 60-second periods, Briggs is always noting the players on the ice, their positions and with which hand they shoot the puck. He's constantly tracking the puck and visualizing the development of potential plays. He continually communicates with his defensemen and moves quickly to cut down shooting angles and to place himself in the best position to make a save. "I play every minute like it's the last minute of the game," he explained of his approach to goaltending. "In my mind the score is always 0-0 no matter what the scoreboard says." It's a strategy that has undoubtedly worked well for Briggs, who currently ranks first among WCHA goalies in save percentage and goals against average. Yet he's incredibly modest about his accomplishments, despite posting numerous statistics worthy of much acclaim. "I couldn't even tell you what my numbers are right now," Briggs admitted. "I do know that they're pretty good, but I just want to play and let whatever happens happen."
What's happened is that in only his second season between the pipes, Briggs has already climbed into a second-place tie for career shutouts. "It's not something I expected because the WCHA is such a high-powered league," Briggs said of blanking the opponent. "But really it's a team thing because in some of those games, I didn't even have to work for the shutout."
Crediting his teammates for assisting in his accomplishments is typical of the unassuming Briggs. But don't confuse his modesty with apathy. Briggs is a skilled competitor who possesses supreme confidence. "I always want to be in net," he stated. "Even when I give up a goal, I quickly put it out of my mind and focus on stopping the next one. At the end of a game, sometimes I can't even remember how the goals went in."
Perhaps that's because Gopher opponents have scored so few goals with Briggs in net. He has given up two goals or less in 14 of the last 17 games, and for his career, Briggs is 34 -1-0 when allowing two goals or less. Gopher forward Danny Irmen referred to Briggs as the backbone of the team and thinks he's considerably underrated as a puck-stopper. "You don't ever want to rely on your goalie," Irmen explained. "But it's great knowing that if you make a mistak,e nine times out of 10 he's going to save you."
Briggs' play has certainly been a major reason why the Gophers currently have a school- record 20-game winning streak at Mariucci Arena. But as you might expect, he downplays the significance of the winning streak and his role in maintaining it. "We've just been concentrating on winning games and we never want to lose at home, so the streak kind of jumped up on us," Briggs said. "We're not going to say we have to keep it going. We're only thinking we need four points every weekend."
It seems a bit remarkable that Briggs, a Colorado Springs, Colo. native, found his way to the Twin Cities. As a boy he sold game programs at Colorado College hockey games and often skated at the old Broadmoar Arena. But fate, and a full Tigers depth chart, brought him to Minnesota, and as he said, it's all worked out perfectly. "I love playing here. Mariucci (Arena) is always sold out and there aren't many teams that can say they play in front of 10,000 fans every home game. I think it's one of the best atmospheres in all of hockey," he stated.
Briggs' initial desire to be a goaltender basically began with his interest in the equipment. "I liked the big pads," he recalled. "Goalies got to wear all of the colorful, cool stuff, so that's what I wanted to be."
Yet the appeal of "cool" equipment hasn't waned. Today, Briggs' "old-school style" goalie mask is his way of distinguishing himself from other net-minders. It's a modern-day version of the classic, white mask that goalies were sporting 30-plus years ago. "I wanted to do something that was original and nobody had done at Minnesota," Briggs said of the design. "I looked at some pictures of what others had worn and I went in a completely opposite direction."
But it takes more than just fancy equipment to play goalie. Briggs prides himself on being a student of the game and combining his acquired knowledge with his athletic skill. He memorizes opponent's lineups, recognizes who the best skaters are and knows their tendencies. Briggs is currently focused on improving his vision and his patience. "I'm tracking the puck better, and I'm trying to stay on my feet a little longer, to give myself a chance on every shot," he explained.
Preparing himself for a game means Briggs follows a specific routine on Fridays and Saturdays, although he doesn't think of himself as superstitious. He said if he's not on the ice or in the lockerroom on game days, then he's probably asleep. "I don't have to be as hyper as the other players do," he said. "As a goalie I want to be calm and relaxed and I think sleep helps me with that, so I try to get as much rest as I can."
His self-imposed rest periods may be the reason Briggs is not at all concerned about suffering from the effects of fatigue despite having played nearly every minute of every game since the middle of October. He said he never wants to sit out and believes the breaks in the schedule have come at the right times to keep him fresh. "If the coaches say to take a game off, I trust what they're doing because they've been doing this longer than I have," he said.
Though, for now, the formula seems to be Briggs in net equals a Gopher win. And while his achievements and the subsequent team's success have many fans eager for March, Kellen Briggs simply approaches it one minute at a time.
story by Kevin Noth, athletic communications graduate assistant A hockey goaltender's primary objective of stopping the puck is pretty straightforward. Despite its relative simplicity, there are as many varying strategies to net-minding as there are broken New Year's resolutions.
The tactic successfully employed by sophomore goalie Kellen Briggs is to break down the entire game into 60 one-minute periods. During every one of those 60-second periods, Briggs is always noting the players on the ice, their positions and with which hand they shoot the puck. He's constantly tracking the puck and visualizing the development of potential plays. He continually communicates with his defensemen and moves quickly to cut down shooting angles and to place himself in the best position to make a save. "I play every minute like it's the last minute of the game," he explained of his approach to goaltending. "In my mind the score is always 0-0 no matter what the scoreboard says." It's a strategy that has undoubtedly worked well for Briggs, who currently ranks first among WCHA goalies in save percentage and goals against average. Yet he's incredibly modest about his accomplishments, despite posting numerous statistics worthy of much acclaim. "I couldn't even tell you what my numbers are right now," Briggs admitted. "I do know that they're pretty good, but I just want to play and let whatever happens happen."
What's happened is that in only his second season between the pipes, Briggs has already climbed into a second-place tie for career shutouts. "It's not something I expected because the WCHA is such a high-powered league," Briggs said of blanking the opponent. "But really it's a team thing because in some of those games, I didn't even have to work for the shutout."
Crediting his teammates for assisting in his accomplishments is typical of the unassuming Briggs. But don't confuse his modesty with apathy. Briggs is a skilled competitor who possesses supreme confidence. "I always want to be in net," he stated. "Even when I give up a goal, I quickly put it out of my mind and focus on stopping the next one. At the end of a game, sometimes I can't even remember how the goals went in."
Perhaps that's because Gopher opponents have scored so few goals with Briggs in net. He has given up two goals or less in 14 of the last 17 games, and for his career, Briggs is 34 -1-0 when allowing two goals or less. Gopher forward Danny Irmen referred to Briggs as the backbone of the team and thinks he's considerably underrated as a puck-stopper. "You don't ever want to rely on your goalie," Irmen explained. "But it's great knowing that if you make a mistak,e nine times out of 10 he's going to save you."
Briggs' play has certainly been a major reason why the Gophers currently have a school- record 20-game winning streak at Mariucci Arena. But as you might expect, he downplays the significance of the winning streak and his role in maintaining it. "We've just been concentrating on winning games and we never want to lose at home, so the streak kind of jumped up on us," Briggs said. "We're not going to say we have to keep it going. We're only thinking we need four points every weekend."
It seems a bit remarkable that Briggs, a Colorado Springs, Colo. native, found his way to the Twin Cities. As a boy he sold game programs at Colorado College hockey games and often skated at the old Broadmoar Arena. But fate, and a full Tigers depth chart, brought him to Minnesota, and as he said, it's all worked out perfectly. "I love playing here. Mariucci (Arena) is always sold out and there aren't many teams that can say they play in front of 10,000 fans every home game. I think it's one of the best atmospheres in all of hockey," he stated.
Briggs' initial desire to be a goaltender basically began with his interest in the equipment. "I liked the big pads," he recalled. "Goalies got to wear all of the colorful, cool stuff, so that's what I wanted to be."
Yet the appeal of "cool" equipment hasn't waned. Today, Briggs' "old-school style" goalie mask is his way of distinguishing himself from other net-minders. It's a modern-day version of the classic, white mask that goalies were sporting 30-plus years ago. "I wanted to do something that was original and nobody had done at Minnesota," Briggs said of the design. "I looked at some pictures of what others had worn and I went in a completely opposite direction."
But it takes more than just fancy equipment to play goalie. Briggs prides himself on being a student of the game and combining his acquired knowledge with his athletic skill. He memorizes opponent's lineups, recognizes who the best skaters are and knows their tendencies. Briggs is currently focused on improving his vision and his patience. "I'm tracking the puck better, and I'm trying to stay on my feet a little longer, to give myself a chance on every shot," he explained.
Preparing himself for a game means Briggs follows a specific routine on Fridays and Saturdays, although he doesn't think of himself as superstitious. He said if he's not on the ice or in the lockerroom on game days, then he's probably asleep. "I don't have to be as hyper as the other players do," he said. "As a goalie I want to be calm and relaxed and I think sleep helps me with that, so I try to get as much rest as I can."
His self-imposed rest periods may be the reason Briggs is not at all concerned about suffering from the effects of fatigue despite having played nearly every minute of every game since the middle of October. He said he never wants to sit out and believes the breaks in the schedule have come at the right times to keep him fresh. "If the coaches say to take a game off, I trust what they're doing because they've been doing this longer than I have," he said.
Though, for now, the formula seems to be Briggs in net equals a Gopher win. And while his achievements and the subsequent team's success have many fans eager for March, Kellen Briggs simply approaches it one minute at a time.
story by Kevin Noth, athletic communications graduate assistant
