Buffalo State goaltender Ian Sylves (Sloan, NY/JFK) concluded his Bengals career as the SUNYAC Goalie of the Year in February, and on March 17 earned his first victory as a professional goalie with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).
Sylves, a graduate student in applied economics, finished the season 15-6-3 between the pipes with Buffalo State, earning the second-most wins in a season by a Bengal. He led the nation with a school record five shutouts and his 2.01 goals against average ranks second in school history and his .928 save percentage ranks third. His goals against average also ranked third in the SUNYAC while his save percentage was good for second in the league.
Sylves made his professional debut with Evansville on Saturday with a 41-save performance in a 5-3 victory over the Mississippi RiverKings. Evansville is currently in sixth-place in the 10-team league with seven games remaining in the regular season.
