October 10, 2006- Former Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goaltender Joe Fallon, now a junior at the University of Vermont, has been named Hockey East Player of the Week.
Fallon, 21, stopped 54 of 55 shots over two games while backstopping Vermont to a win at the Ice Breaker Invitational in Oxford, Ohio last weekend. Fallon made 23 saves to shutout Colgate in a 6-0 season opening semi-final victory last Friday. One night later, the Bemidji, Minnesota native stopped 31 shots as the Catamounts defeated host Miami of Ohio 4-1 in the tournament final. For his efforts, Fallon was named to the Ice Breaker Invitational All-Tournament Team.
The strong start is nothing new for Fallon, who has shined since first arriving in Burlington two years ago. In 67 career collegiate games he has gone 33-24-9 with a 1.94 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Friday’s whitewashing of the fourteenth-ranked Raiders lifted Fallon’s school record career shutout total to 12.
Fallon is coming off a sterling sophomore season that saw him go 14-14-5 while posting a 2.02 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and six shutouts. He finished tied for fourth in the nation in goals against average and tied for third in shutouts.
Fallon spent two standout seasons with the RoughRiders before heading to Vermont. In 84 career games as a Rider, Fallon went 45-28-8 with a 2.66 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and six shutouts. In 2003-04, his final season in Cedar Rapids, Fallon posted some of the best goaltending numbers in the United States Hockey League, going 25-13-2 while turning in a 2.73 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts.
Fallon is one of more than 70 former RoughRiders who have gone on to the Division I college ranks since the team’s arrival in Cedar Rapids in 1999. Seven current RoughRiders have also already made college commitments.
This year’s edition of the RoughRiders returns to action with a home-and-home series against the Chicago Steel this weekend. The Riders meet the Steel in Bensenville, Illinois Friday night at 7:35 before returning home to battle Chicago Saturday evening at 7:05. The Riders opened the season last Saturday with a 4-2 loss to the Green Bay Gamblers.
Tickets for Saturday’s game- and all remaining RoughRider home games- can be purchased in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or on line at www.roughridershockey.com. The ticket office is open from noon to 5:00PM on weekdays and from noon through the end of the second period on game days. Ticket prices range from $7 to $17 in advance and from $8 to $18 on game days.