City of Champions
Fansided

RMU Hockey: Goalies Terry Shafer, Dalton Izyk Give Colonials A Rare Luxury

By Matt Gajtka

facebooktwitterreddit

Junior Terry Shafer (left) and sophomore Dalton Izyk enter the 2014-15 season looking to continue to lead the Colonials from the crease. (Photo: RMU Athletics)

The Robert Morris University men’s hockey team enters the 2014-15 season with a rare luxury: two battle-tested goaltenders.

Junior Terry Shafer and sophomore Dalton Izyk each manned the cage for significant stretches last season, with Shafer backstopping the Colonials to an 12-5-3 record from Jan. 4 to March 8 before suffering a season-ending injury during the decisive Game 3 of a first-round Atlantic Hockey Association series against Army.

From there, Izyk took over, earning AHA all-tournament team honors as RMU won its first conference championship in 10 years of existence. With Shafer, who was a regular-season all-AHA selection himself, and Izyk on the squad, the Colonials seemingly can’t go wrong no matter who gets the call on a given night.

City of Champions recently sat down with the goalie tandem at the RMU Island Sports Center for an eye-opening Q&A session on last season’s experience, playing college hockey, the bond among netminders and more:

Matt Gajtka: Terry, what was last year like for you? You got a lot of playing time and carried the load for the regular season and the start of the AHA playoffs.

Shafer: It was a big transition from being a backup to getting a lot of minutes. It was a lot different in practice each week, having to focus in every single day and making sure you’re sharp on every single shot. Really paying attention on scouting reports, focusing in on everything and making sure you’re ready for every chance you get, because if you don’t do the job, someone’s there behind you ready to do it. (Gestures toward Izyk)

You really have to take care of your body, but it was a lot of fun and a good experience.

Gajtka: Dalton, how was the first part of the season for you? You came in as a freshman after playing a lot for your junior team (USHL’s Indiana Ice) and you didn’t see much game action until March.

Izyk: Last year I had an injury at the beginning of the year, a little setback. And then Terry was doing great, so there wasn’t a reason for us to change. We weren’t winning games, but the offense and other things weren’t clicking. I was more focused on the practices and the weight room. I focused on the small things a little bit more instead of games.

Gajtka: Terry, when you had the injury in the playoffs, you’re suddenly watching. What was that transition like for you?

Shafer: Obviously it was unexpected and unfortunate, but all season long Dalton was right there pushing me from the start. Had he not been injured I’m sure we would’ve shared a lot of the time anyway. But it was definitely a big change, going from right in the middle of the action to all of a sudden sitting in the stands for the games. All you can do is try to pick up on anything and let Dalton know about it. It was definitely a learning experience, that’s for sure.

Gajtka: Dalton, how did you handle that situation mentally when Terry got injured? You had to win that game to move on, and then every game from there got more and more important.

Izyk: Truthfully I thought (Shafer) was joking when he came to the bench. I thought he was just coming over to get some water at the media timeout, but that wasn’t the case. (Laughs)

In one sense, there’s not much thinking involved, you just go out and play. That helped out. I faced a lot of pressure in juniors and coach (Derek) Schooley uses a lot of “battle” drills, so we’re competing every day and nothing’s ever set. It’s obviously fun for us, but this team is so competitive. People get (mad) at you if you let one in, so you’re used to pressure and can ignore all that and focus on having fun.

Gajtka: Let’s go back in time a bit. What made you two want to be goalies in the first place? What drew you to the position?

Shafer: I more got pushed into it. My other brother and cousin are a year apart and they’re both seven or eight years older than me. They played hockey growing up and we would play street hockey every day. I’d get forced to tie the pillows to my legs, and I just loved it because I got to hang out with the older guys.

I started begging my parents to let me try to play goalie, and eventually they let me. Probably unfortunately for them I turned out to be halfway decent at it and they let me chase being a goalie.

More from Robert Morris University

Izyk: I couldn’t really skate too well. In my first game I took the most penalty minutes on our team and the coach wasn’t too happy. I was really little but he asked if it would be a better option if I played goalie (full-time) instead of rotating like we were doing. That’s how I started and I fell in love with it.

Shafer: That’s a different story. I never heard one like that. (Laughs)

Gajtka: Do you guys like facing a lot of shots? Just looking at the stats from last year, the team allowed quite a few (34.5 against per game). I know a lot of goalies say they prefer more action.

Shafer: Yeah, I don’t mind. We let up a lot of shots last year but they were mostly from the outside. Our defense is designed to force opponents to take shots from low-scoring areas. When you face, say, 40 shots, you get a feel for the puck every minute or so, that’s better than sitting around and getting one every five minutes. It’s a lot easier to stay focused and locked in on the puck (with more shots).

Izyk: It’s definitely nice because we face a lot of low-percentage shots, point shots. The ‘D’ plays so well and keeps everything to the outside so it’s more on us to control everything. It’s nicer to have a lot of easy shots than a few from close.

Gajtka: As goalies, do you guys sometimes feel like you’re on your own team? Obviously, you do different drills in practice even though you’re with the rest of the team in most other things. Does there need to be a camaraderie among goalies?

Shafer: I think there’s always going to be a special bond between goalies. We’re all hockey players, but there’s going to be a lot more forwards and defensemen on a team than us. Last year Dalton and I had the rope pulling in the same direction and that helps very much. Now, with (freshman Andrew Pikul) on the team, I think he’s doing the same thing so far.

Gajtka: Dalton, how quickly did you feel comfortable as part of the goalie tandem last year?

Izyk: We’re from the same state (New York), which is nice, and we played each other in juniors, so we knew each other a little bit. But everyone on the team sticks together, even if they think we’re the “weird people.” But when you have a serious question about something, I think your goalie partner is the first one you turn to. It’s almost like having a girlfriend. (Laughs)

Gajtka: What is the adjustment like from juniors to NCAA Division I hockey?

Shafer: When I came in I had a senior, Eric Levine, who was really great in helping my transition here. He made me feel comfortable, but it’s a big step when you come from juniors. The league I played in (Eastern Junior Hockey League) had a handful of Division I guys, a handful of Division III guys and some guys who might not even play hockey any more after that.

Out here, if you leave part of the net open, they’re not going to miss it. As far as on-ice (action) goes, staying out of your net and staying on your angle was the biggest adjustment.

Izyk: There’s a lot more practice and lifting as opposed to games in college. My goalie partner in Indiana, (Jon) Gillies, told me that that hardest part was over, going from (midget) hockey to juniors is the hardest jump. After that, there are smaller ones.

Obviously everyone here is stronger and older. Like last year, Andrew Blazek was a young man for sure, compared to some of the guys you see in junior. Plus, the school thing – being out of school for even one year was a struggle to get used to it again.

Shafer: Try three years! (Laughs)

Gajtka: What made you decide to come to RMU?

Shafer: My older sister went to Point Park (University) in downtown Pittsburgh, so I knew the city already. My little sister goes to Duquesne now, so we’re all over Pittsburgh. Realistically, RMU was one of the first schools that started talking to me. It was just a good situation with a senior in front of me when I came in. The coaching staff was great during my visit here and you could tell it was a program on the rise. I’ve never looked back on my decision since I got here, that’s for sure.

Izyk: The coaches approached me and I was kind of over juniors. I felt like the team was headed in the right direction, winning the Three Rivers Classic and almost making the (NCAA) tournament. On my visit, I saw it wasn’t one of those big schools with so many people you have to know. It was more of a close-knit family, so that’s what made my decision.

A few more quick questions and answers with Shafer and Izyk:

Home/Robert Morris University