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Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy has said "The name hockey should be changed to goalie" on more than one occasion in post game press conferences over the past few years.
The ninth year bench boss of the Warriors is correct when he alludes to the importance of the position in the sport of hockey. This year's NCAA Tournament is perfect proof of that.
Four of the top five goaltenders, going by save percentage rankings, are in the NCAA Tournament. Expanding out further, half of the starting goaltenders in the field rank in the top 13 nationally while 12 are in the top 24.
St. Cloud State goaltender Ryan Faragher has a .906 save percentage, worst of any starting goaltender in the tournament. Just a decade or so ago, a .906 save percentage would be nothing to be frowned upon, but now the norm is above .920.
All eight goaltenders whose teams made the Hockey East quarterfinals had at least a .922 save percentage.
For further proof of how important goaltending has become in the sport, look no further than the save percentages of the four goaltenders who led their teams to tournament championships in Hockey East, NCHC, ECAC and Big Ten.
.943, .932, .931 and .930. Ranks first, fourth, fifth and seventh nationally.
From here on out, a loss ends your season. Each and every goal for and against matters, leading to another one of Dennehy's favorite anecdotes. "[The goaltender] doesn't have to make all the saves, just the game-winning one."
| Nat'l Rank | Player | School | Year | W-L-T | GAA | Sv. Pct. | SO |
| 1 | Connor Hellebuyck | UMass Lowell | Soph. | 17-8-2 | 1.73 | .943 | 6 |
| 2 | Adam Wilcox | Minnesota | Soph. | 23-5-6 | 1.91 | .933 | 3 |
| 4 | Sam Brittain | Denver | Sr. | 19-3-6 | 2.11 | .933 | 5 |
| 5 | Colin Stevens | Union | Jr. | 24-4-2 | 1.96 | .932 | 6 |
| 7 | Joel Rumpel | Wisconsin | Jr. | 21-5-1 | 2.03 | .930 | 2 |
| 10 | Jon Gillies | Providence | Soph. | 18-8-1 | 2.20 | .929 | 3 |
| 11 | Brody Hoffman | Vermont | Soph. | 10-7-1 | 2.01 | .927 | 0 |
| 13 | C.J. Motte | Ferris State | Jr. | 27-8-3 | 2.25 | .926 | 3 |
| 17 | Steven Summerhays | Notre Dame | Sr. | 21-13-2 | 2.00 | .925 | 7 |
| 19 | Cole Huggins | Minnesota State | Fr. | 21.7-1 | 1.91 | .924 | 6 |
| 21 | Zane Gothberg | North Dakota | Soph. | 18-9-3 | 2.05 | .923 | 3 |
| 24 | Thatcher Demko | Boston College | Fr. | 14-4-3 | 2.13 | .921 | 2 |
| 33 | Charlie Finn | Colgate | Fr. | 16-7-4 | 2.40 | .916 | 1 |
| 39 | Michael Garteig | Quinnipiac | Soph. | 24-9-6 | 1.989 | .912 | 6 |
| 54 | Ryan Faragher | St. Cloud | Soph. | 19-8-6 | 2.76 | .906 | 1 |
| -- | Dalton Izyk | Robert Morris | Fr. | 5-1-0 | 2.73 | .922 | 1 |
Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.