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Mar. 14—ORONO — They don't teach the dive-across-the-crease-with-your-arms-outstretched-like-Superman move at goalie camps. What Albin Boija did with just over three minutes left in last Saturday's game at the University of Massachusetts was a simple reaction — his natural instinct to keep the puck out of his net.
Time seemed to slow down, UMaine men's hockey senior defenseman David Breazeale said. Maine coach Ben Barr admitted he was talking to somebody on the bench and missed it, but added he was amazed after he saw the video on the bus ride home. After making an initial blocker save on Aydar Suniev, the puck went right to Dans Locmelis, who skated in from Boija's right and was looking at a wide-open net.
Boija dove across the crease, getting full extension of his arms to place his blocker between Locmelis' shot and the net. Within minutes, it was called the Save of the Year across the internet.
"He got off a pretty good low blocker shot there, the first guy. I thought I put the rebound in a decent spot, but then I look over and the guy is just loading it up like a one-timer for the rebound. I just, I gotta get over there. So, a diving save. Do whatever I could," Boija said. "Fortunately, I got there and we were able to keep the tie game."
Those kind of saves blow up on social media, but what makes Boija, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore from Sundsvall, Sweden, special is that he doesn't need to make those on a routine basis. Most of the time, Boija is simply in the right position, and his saves are Christmas Eve quiet.
"His best facet is his mental strength and how he approaches things. He doesn't get overwhelmed. He does the same thing every day... He's the lowest maintenance kid you could be around." Barr said. "He's a kid who's never going to be satisfied. The playoffs is where you really make a name for yourself. Everything gets magnified a little bit. Not just Albin. This is where you leave your legacy."
Boija enters Saturday's Hockey East quarterfinal against UMass Lowell ranked fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.77) and ninth in save percentage (.929). His play in net is a big reason why the Black Bears (21-7-6) enter the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed and are ranked No. 4 nationally in the latest USCHO.com poll.
"I think he should win the Richter Award (given to college hockey's top goalie). He's so dominating, and such a pro off the ice," Breazeale said of Boija. "Obviously, we don't talk about those things. We don't talk about individual awards and stuff like that. It's all about the team, but he's had such an incredible season. So reliable, so steady back there."
His current career goals-against average, 1.85, is just behind Jimmy Howard's 1.84 for best in program history. Boija's .925 career save percentage is third best, behind Howard's .931 and Jeremy Swayman's .927. His six career shutouts are tied for third with his goalie coach Alfie Michaud, who was Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 Frozen Four when he was in net for Maine's second NCAA championship.
"His numbers kind of speak for themselves. As a group, we lean on him for confidence, kind of for everything," Michaud said after a recent practice. "We're really fortunate we have him."
Maine has had four All-American goalies, and nine who have earned all-Hockey East honors. Boija could join their ranks in the coming weeks, and was able to spend time with one of them, Swayman, when the current Boston Bruins goaltender visited Orono last summer.
"It was really cool to meet a guy like Sway in person. He's such a good guy. It's pretty awesome to be following in his tracks, and obviously a bunch of other guys before him," Boija said. "Alfie's always talking to him on the phone, and Alfie relays whatever he says to me. I hear a lot from Sway."
How Boija found his way to Orono is as remarkable as his save at UMass.
It began in the spring 2021, when Barr was still an assistant coach at UMass and the Minutemen were making their run to the NCAA title. Nick Angell happened to be watching the Frozen Four on television, when the announcers cut to Barr on the bench and noted his wife ,Tara, was due to deliver their twins any day. Angell, also the father of twins, remembered Barr from their days playing youth hockey together in Duluth, Minnesota, and reached out.
Fast forward to late summer 2023, when Boija was in North Richland Hills, Texas, ready to join the Lone Star Brahmas junior team. At the same time in Orono, Barr was trying to figure out his goalie situation. Incoming freshman Patriks Berzins of Latvia was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for playing in what was deemed a Latvian professional league (Berzins' eligibility has since been reinstated, and he's now Boija's backup with the Black Bears). With senior goalies Victor Ostman and Connor Androlewicz on the roster, Barr needed a young goalie to prep for the future.
Enter Angell again. After completing his playing career at the University of Minnesota, Angell played professionally in Sweden. When Angell played in Europe, his agent was Tommy Östrom, who was serving as an advisor to Boija's family. Now back home in Minnesota, Angell occasionally helped Östrom find European players spots with U.S. college or junior teams. Angell said to Barr, if you need a goalie, I know one who might be a good fit.
"I told Ben, this kid is a stud. He might be ready to go (with college hockey) right off the bat," Angell said.
Barr watched tape of Boija and made him an offer.
"It wasn't really a recruiting process. There really wasn't anyone we thought who was better that we could get at that point," Barr said. "Obviously, it turned out pretty good."
Boija sat behind Ostman for most of the first half of last season before taking over as Maine's primary goalie after the holiday break. An illness kept Boija out of Maine's NCAA tournament game, a 3-1 loss to Cornell.
All of Boija's communication on the ice with his teammates is in English, his second language. Sometimes, though, he catches himself thinking midgame in Swedish, or toggling between the language in his head. That all goes to his mental focus. Boija said he's improved his composure on the ice and is recovering on rebounds with more ease. There are those desperation saves like last Saturday, sure, but when he's locked in, those are needed less and less.
"I was usually the guy spending the most time in the weight room. All of a sudden, he's spending double the time I am," Breazeale said. "I said, you know, maybe there's some stuff I can pick up from him. It's pretty cool to be around guys like that."
What if Angell had not been watching the Frozen Four that night, or the announcers had not mentioned the impending birth of Barr's twins? Is Boija stopping pucks somewhere else this season after a year of junior hockey? Probably, Barr said. It's not something he wants to think about.
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Time seemed to slow down, UMaine men's hockey senior defenseman David Breazeale said. Maine coach Ben Barr admitted he was talking to somebody on the bench and missed it, but added he was amazed after he saw the video on the bus ride home. After making an initial blocker save on Aydar Suniev, the puck went right to Dans Locmelis, who skated in from Boija's right and was looking at a wide-open net.
Boija dove across the crease, getting full extension of his arms to place his blocker between Locmelis' shot and the net. Within minutes, it was called the Save of the Year across the internet.
"He got off a pretty good low blocker shot there, the first guy. I thought I put the rebound in a decent spot, but then I look over and the guy is just loading it up like a one-timer for the rebound. I just, I gotta get over there. So, a diving save. Do whatever I could," Boija said. "Fortunately, I got there and we were able to keep the tie game."
Those kind of saves blow up on social media, but what makes Boija, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore from Sundsvall, Sweden, special is that he doesn't need to make those on a routine basis. Most of the time, Boija is simply in the right position, and his saves are Christmas Eve quiet.
"His best facet is his mental strength and how he approaches things. He doesn't get overwhelmed. He does the same thing every day... He's the lowest maintenance kid you could be around." Barr said. "He's a kid who's never going to be satisfied. The playoffs is where you really make a name for yourself. Everything gets magnified a little bit. Not just Albin. This is where you leave your legacy."
Boija enters Saturday's Hockey East quarterfinal against UMass Lowell ranked fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.77) and ninth in save percentage (.929). His play in net is a big reason why the Black Bears (21-7-6) enter the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed and are ranked No. 4 nationally in the latest USCHO.com poll.
"I think he should win the Richter Award (given to college hockey's top goalie). He's so dominating, and such a pro off the ice," Breazeale said of Boija. "Obviously, we don't talk about those things. We don't talk about individual awards and stuff like that. It's all about the team, but he's had such an incredible season. So reliable, so steady back there."
His current career goals-against average, 1.85, is just behind Jimmy Howard's 1.84 for best in program history. Boija's .925 career save percentage is third best, behind Howard's .931 and Jeremy Swayman's .927. His six career shutouts are tied for third with his goalie coach Alfie Michaud, who was Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 Frozen Four when he was in net for Maine's second NCAA championship.
"His numbers kind of speak for themselves. As a group, we lean on him for confidence, kind of for everything," Michaud said after a recent practice. "We're really fortunate we have him."
Maine has had four All-American goalies, and nine who have earned all-Hockey East honors. Boija could join their ranks in the coming weeks, and was able to spend time with one of them, Swayman, when the current Boston Bruins goaltender visited Orono last summer.
"It was really cool to meet a guy like Sway in person. He's such a good guy. It's pretty awesome to be following in his tracks, and obviously a bunch of other guys before him," Boija said. "Alfie's always talking to him on the phone, and Alfie relays whatever he says to me. I hear a lot from Sway."
How Boija found his way to Orono is as remarkable as his save at UMass.
It began in the spring 2021, when Barr was still an assistant coach at UMass and the Minutemen were making their run to the NCAA title. Nick Angell happened to be watching the Frozen Four on television, when the announcers cut to Barr on the bench and noted his wife ,Tara, was due to deliver their twins any day. Angell, also the father of twins, remembered Barr from their days playing youth hockey together in Duluth, Minnesota, and reached out.
Fast forward to late summer 2023, when Boija was in North Richland Hills, Texas, ready to join the Lone Star Brahmas junior team. At the same time in Orono, Barr was trying to figure out his goalie situation. Incoming freshman Patriks Berzins of Latvia was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for playing in what was deemed a Latvian professional league (Berzins' eligibility has since been reinstated, and he's now Boija's backup with the Black Bears). With senior goalies Victor Ostman and Connor Androlewicz on the roster, Barr needed a young goalie to prep for the future.
Enter Angell again. After completing his playing career at the University of Minnesota, Angell played professionally in Sweden. When Angell played in Europe, his agent was Tommy Östrom, who was serving as an advisor to Boija's family. Now back home in Minnesota, Angell occasionally helped Östrom find European players spots with U.S. college or junior teams. Angell said to Barr, if you need a goalie, I know one who might be a good fit.
"I told Ben, this kid is a stud. He might be ready to go (with college hockey) right off the bat," Angell said.
Barr watched tape of Boija and made him an offer.
"It wasn't really a recruiting process. There really wasn't anyone we thought who was better that we could get at that point," Barr said. "Obviously, it turned out pretty good."
Boija sat behind Ostman for most of the first half of last season before taking over as Maine's primary goalie after the holiday break. An illness kept Boija out of Maine's NCAA tournament game, a 3-1 loss to Cornell.
All of Boija's communication on the ice with his teammates is in English, his second language. Sometimes, though, he catches himself thinking midgame in Swedish, or toggling between the language in his head. That all goes to his mental focus. Boija said he's improved his composure on the ice and is recovering on rebounds with more ease. There are those desperation saves like last Saturday, sure, but when he's locked in, those are needed less and less.
"I was usually the guy spending the most time in the weight room. All of a sudden, he's spending double the time I am," Breazeale said. "I said, you know, maybe there's some stuff I can pick up from him. It's pretty cool to be around guys like that."
What if Angell had not been watching the Frozen Four that night, or the announcers had not mentioned the impending birth of Barr's twins? Is Boija stopping pucks somewhere else this season after a year of junior hockey? Probably, Barr said. It's not something he wants to think about.
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