Mick Hatten

mhatten@stcloudtimes.com

The St. Cloud State men's hockey team will have a new starting goalie next season.

Ryan Faragher will forgo his senior season after signing a one-year pro deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Faragher was 20-9-4 with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage in 2013-14.

He helped the Huskies win back-to-back conference titles and reach two straight NCAA regional championship games, a feat that had not been done before by the program.

Faragher has not returned calls for interview requests, but addressed his signing on Twitter, saying, "I want to thank my friends, coaches and most of all, my family for the support over the years. And thank you SCSU for 3 unforgettable yrs."

Faragher played in 99 games for the Huskies over the past three seasons. He was 53-34-8 with a 2.58 GAA, a .911 save percentage and five shutouts for his career. His 53 wins and 2,501 saves are second on the school's career Division I lists.

"Ryan did a very good job for us over the last couple years and was a big help for us (in 2012-13), helping us win our first league championship in the WCHA," Huskies coach Bob Motzko said. "We're very happy for Ryan, very thankful for all he did for the program and wish him all the best.

"He's a terrific young man and student and worked extremely hard in his three years for us."

Faragher, 23, was not drafted by NHL teams. He attended NHL prospect camps with the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers over the past two summers.

"We felt all along that this was something he aspired to do," Motzko said. "We were thinking that he would jump at an opportunity (to turn pro) if it came his way."

Faragher helped the Huskies win the inaugural National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season title this season. He, and the team, had two different statistical halves of seasons in 2013-14. Through December, Faragher was 10-2-2 with a 2.08 GAA and a .922 save percentage.

In the last three months of the season, Faragher went 10-7-2 with a 3.61 GAA and an .881 save percentage. But he also won his last three starts of the regular season, helping the Huskies clinch the NCHC title on the last day of the conference schedule.

Faragher ended up getting treatment for an illness during the week of the NCAA West Regional. He made a season-best 39 saves in a 4-3 overtime win over Notre Dame in the opening round, then stopped 12 of 15 shots in 34 minutes before being replaced in the Huskies' 4-0 loss to Minnesota in the region championship game.

With Faragher's departure, Charlie Lindgren is the heir apparent to become the team's No. 1 goalie. Lindgren, a freshman from Lakeville, went 2-2-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 10 games.

"Charlie is a team favorite and the guys are excited for that," Motzko said of Lindgren taking over starting duties. "Guys have a lot of confidence in him and in all of our goaltenders returning."

His last season of junior hockey, Lindgren was named the USA Hockey Junior Goalie of the Year. In 2012-13, Lindgren was 40-19-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .904 save percentage for Sioux Falls in the United States Hockey League.

The other two backups for the Huskies were Joe Phillippi, who completed his redshirt sophomore season, and Rasmus Reijola, who sat out a redshirt season last winter. Reijola will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. Phillippi and Reijola did not appear in a game in 2013-14 for the Huskies.

Dowd, Gravel make pro debuts

Kevin Gravel, who completed his senior season with the Huskies, has signed an amateur tryout agreement to play for the Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs of the American Hockey League. The Monarchs are the top minor league team of the Los Angeles Kings.

Gravel, 22, is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound defenseman from Kingsford, Mich. He and former St. Cloud State co-captain Nic Dowd made their pro debuts with Manchester in a 2-0 loss to Hartford on Friday night. Gravel had a minor penalty in the game.

"It's a great opportunity for Kevin to show what he can do over the next month-and-a-half," Motzko said.

Gravel had career-bests of 10 goals and 13 assists with two penalty minutes and was a plus-9 in 38 games for the Huskies. He was a fifth-round (148th overall) pick of the Kings in 2010.

"He's got to get a little sandpaper in his game," Motzko said of playing a more physical game. "He needs to establish himself more defensively and then let the offense help.

"He needs to become much more aggressive in the physical aspects of the game."

Follow Mick Hatten on Twitter @MickHatten.