Wall Living Up to Billing for Lowell

by David Eckert/CHN Reporter

Tyler Wall is most comfortable when he’s busy.

The senior Massachusetts-Lowell goaltender and New York Rangers draft pick said he’s spent a solid portion of his hockey life playing on teams that tended to get outshot, and this year’s River Hawk team contributes to that trend, with a -77 shot margin on the season.

But Wall says he doesn’t mind.

“A 40-shot game for me is about perfect,” he said, “as long as there aren’t 12 breakaways or something. I like to be in a groove and feel the puck throughout the whole game. I don’t like getting cold.”

Perhaps that’s the trait that allowed Wall to fare so well in three games over the last three weeks against the two teams in college hockey that shoot the puck more than anyone — Penn State and Providence.

The River Hawks (10-4-4) handled the Nittany Lions in overtime two weeks ago before splitting two games with the Friars last weekend, largely keeping a lid on two of the top-five scoring offenses nationally.

None of those three games saw Wall meet that 40-shot threshold he says he likes, but did stop 100 of the 107 combined shots sent his way for a .935 mark.

Through 18 games, Wall’s season save percentage sits at .945, second in the country behind Minnesota State’s Dryden McKay.

Wall is quick to repurpose any praise directed his way for those numbers, instead giving credit to his defensemen for keeping his line of sight clear or to his forwards for being eager to backcheck.

Lowell coach Norm Bazin has grown accustomed to that kind of humility from his netminder.

“Tyler is very good at deflecting credit,” Bazin said. “He’s really humble, and I can assure you he’s very, very generous with his praise. There’s a lot of young defensemen that are learning on the go.”

Dealing with injuries on his blue line, Bazin has relied even more on Wall, not only for his goaltending, but for his leadership as well.

Wall is one of just three seniors on a UMass-Lowell roster that features 21 freshmen and sophomores. UMass-Lowell, despite its youth, currently sits tied for second in the Hockey East standings heading into the winter break. The River Hawks trail Providence, which has played two more conference games, by only a point.

“This year we’ve given him the added responsibility of being an assistant captain, and he’s really done a marvelous job with it,” Bazin said. “Not just playing wise, showing consistency and showing the way, but also encouraging our young defensive corps and giving them praise. I would say he’s done an outstanding job thus far being a leader.”

Wall, Bazin said, worked over the offseason to streamline his body, and has also arrived at a place academically where he can devote a larger chunk of time to hockey. (The junior year coursework for aspiring mechanical engineers at UMass-Lowell like Wall is especially daunting, according to Bazin.)

As a result, the Rivers Hawks now feel like they can lean on Wall on a nightly basis. He led Lowell to a Hockey East title as a freshman before splitting time in net with Christoffer Hernberg as a freshman and sophomore.

As a senior, he’s started 17 of Lowell’s first 18 games, and has the River Hawks ranked 11th in the Pairwise and feeling a little bit overlooked.

“You start to wonder what you might have to do to be considered a favorite in a game,” Wall said. “I think that’s our M.O. as a team. We’re usually the underdogs.”