ITHACA, N.Y. — As the nation’s stingiest defense in men’s hockey continues to get stingier, the keystone keeps collecting the accolades. Cornell freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda garnered more awards on Tuesday, when ECAC Hockey announced that he has been concurrently named the Rookie of the Week and Goaltender of the Week after he proved impregnable last weekend in games Friday at Clarkson and Saturday at St. Lawrence.
By making 34 saves in a scoreless tie against the Golden Knights and 16 stops in a 1-0 victory over the Saints, Galajda remarkable posted consecutive shutouts for a third time in his first collegiate season. He has taken over the outright national lead in shutouts with eight, which is not only program freshman record, but it also gives him solo possession of third on the Big Red’s all-time list for shutouts in a single season.
The honors are just the latest in Galajda’s pocket. He is the reigning Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Rookie of the Month for January and was also the ECAC Hockey Goaltender and Rookie of the Month. This is the third time this season he’s been named the league’s top goalie of the week and second time he’s been tabbed the top newcomer.
Currently ranked fourth in the nation in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls and sitting atop the ECAC Hockey standings, Cornell returns to Lynah Rink for its final home games of the regular season this weekend. The Big Red starts off at 7 p.m. Friday against Brown, then takes on Yale at 7 p.m. Saturday in the team’s annual Senior Night. While Saturday’s game is already sold out, tickets for Friday’s game remain available at www.cornellbigredtickets.com.
