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South Carolina's Zapolski Named Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month

Published on March 4, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Ryan Zapolski of the South Carolina Stingrays is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for February. Zapolski, who also won the monthly award for December, is the first goaltender since Jayme Platt in 2001-02 to capture two monthly awards in the same season.

The 26-year-old went 5-1-1 with four shutouts, a 0.85 goals-against average and a save percentage of .971 in seven appearances in February.

Zapolski allowed two goals or less in six of his seven appearances highlighted by his four shutouts. He made 29 saves in a 2-0 win at Gwinnett on Feb. 1, 15 saves in a 3-0 victory at Orlando on Feb. 17, 32 saves in a 2-0 win against Greenville on Feb. 22 and 27 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Road Warriors on Feb. 23. He became the fifth goaltender in ECHL history to post three consecutive shutouts, and had a shutout streak of 212:32 over a five-game stretch.

A native of Erie, Pa., Zapolski was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game after stopping all 17 shots he faced in the second period of the ECHL All-Stars 7-3 win over Colorado. He leads the ECHL this season with a 1.68 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage and seven shutouts, while he is tied for third with 21 wins. His seven shutouts are tied for the second-most in a single-season in ECHL history, and is just one behind the league record of eight.

Zapolski has appeared in 47 career ECHL games with South Carolina, Gwinnett, Kalamazoo and Toledo posting an overall record of 29-13-3 with nine shutouts, a 1.90 goals-against average and a save percentage of .933. Prior to turning pro, Zapolski played four seasons at Mercyhurst College where he appeared in 109 games and went 48-43-11 with eight shutouts, a 2.77 goals-against average and a save percentage of .920.

Runners Up: Mark Guggenberger, Alaska (5-1-2, 1.84 GAA, .940 save pct.), Josh Robinson, Idaho (6-2-2, 2.26 GAA, .935 save pct.) and Joel Martin, Kalamazoo (8-3-3, 2.52 GAA, .939 save pct.).

Also Nominated: Brian Stewart (Bakersfield), Adam Brown (Colorado), Paul Dainton (Evansville), Jeff Deslauriers (Fort Wayne), Scott Stajcer (Greenville), Jody O'Neill (Gwinnett), Joe Fallon (Las Vegas), Chris Carrozzi (Ontario), Patrick Killeen (Orlando), Thomas Heemskerk (San Francisco), Olivier Roy (Stockton) and Kent Simpson (Toledo).

PREVIOUS WINNERS

MONTH PLAYER TEAM

October Marc Cheverie Elmira Jackals

November Phillip Grubauer Reading Royals

December Ryan Zapolski South Carolina Stingrays

January Ken Reiter Fort Wayne Komets

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