What we see are the highlight reel goals.

What we don’t see is all the time that has gone into producing them.

Carter Savoie‘s next goal will be the 20th of his NCAA career. To put that into some context, the winger has played 30 games (or less than a typical full season) so far for No. 11 Denver, which pays a visit to No. 8 North Dakota this weekend to kick off NCHC play.

A series against arguably its biggest rival ought to put some extra juice in the Pioneers’ stride, and perhaps no one should be as excited to see the Fighting Hawks as Savoie, who stung them for five goals in seven games last season. The sophomore had eight in the other 17 games he played. He has added six in his first six games this fall.

Does he have the Fighting Hawks’ number?

“I would say that’s how the chips fell,” he said this week. “There’s nothing special I did. I try to come to the rink every day with the same mindset and I just got lucky against them a few times.”

Sweat equity leads to goals

His college coach has called him a one-shot scorer. His center has said his shot is at another level. How did the 5-foot-10 Savoie become one of NCAA hockey’s premier sharp shooters?

It didn’t happen overnight.

As a youth hockey player, he scored roughly twice every three games, just as he has thus far at DU. That rate dipped to once every other game during his first season of junior with Sherwood Park of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. But give him a break, he didn’t turn 16 until halfway through his first season playing in a league whose population skews as much as four years older.

In 2019-20, Savoie took things to another level striking 53 times in 54 games and amassing 99 points. His hometown Edmonton Oilers took note and drafted him the fourth round of the 2020 Entry Draft.

“He worked on his shot every day before practice, after practice, all the time,” Sherwood Park coach Adam Manah said. “He constantly took reps. It’s a real credit to him because he put in a lot of work. That’s why he’s the real deal. We’re very proud of him.”

One unique aspect of Savoie’s shot is how deceptive it is. It might look the same coming off his stick but he can locate any number of openings. It’s a necessity as goaltenders have undergone a growth spurt and capitalized on more specialized trained.

“Having them move that extra inch or two can get them off (angle) and you can find some holes,” Savoie said.

A goalie who faces him every day said Savoie’s eyes rarely stray from the prize.

“Sav is a pure shooter,” Magnus Chrona said. “He’s smart (about) when he shoots. He looks up and finds the right corner.”

Manah called deception one of Savoie’s three primary strengths.

“Carter does a really good job changing that shot angle,” he said. “It’s almost like an innate skill. He’s developed it, but he’s had it a long time. He doesn’t shoot into shin pads too often.”

Another notable attribute is Savoie’s release, Manah added. “It’s so quick. We haven’t seen a guy with that quick of a release since.”

Said Savoie, “That’s again just repetition, practicing and making sure you’re getting it off your stick quick and having a quick release point.”

It might seem automatic to Savoie, but linemate Bobby Brink said what Savoie is able to do routinely is anything but common.

“He shoots it hard. There’s a lot of speed coming off his stick,” Brink said. “It’s probably something he’s thinking about on some level going in, release the puck as quickly as I can, catch the goalie off guard just so the goalie can’t read the release or be set for it.”

Completing this goal scorer’s hat trick is a fierce competitive streak, Manah said.

“I’ve never seen a guy who wants to shoot to score like Carter,” he said. “Some guys are looking to get a rebound chance (for a teammate), not him. He wants to score on every shot.”

Seeing green

That brings us back to this weekend, with DU looking to snap a two-game slump courtesy of surrendering a big third-period lead at Providence and not coming all the way back in a game at Boston College that was closer than the final 5-1 count indicated.

If the Pioneers are to get back on the plus side of the ledger, they will need Savoie and linemates Cole Guttman and Brink  to continue their early season surge. The trio has combined for 12 goals and 30 points in six games; in other words you can pencil them in for two goals and five points every game.

Guttman and Brink travel different paths to the net than Savoie does, Chrona said.

“Gutter looks to make the goalie act before he shoots,” Chrona said. “You make a wrong move and it’s in. It applies to Bob, too. He barely looks down at the puck. He moves it left to right and back and finds the open spot.”

Given how tough goals were to score against North Dakota last season (DU was shut out once and held to one goal two other times), the that top line will need to make some noise this weekend. Brink had four assists against the Fighting Hawks in 2020-21, but Guttman had just one. Neither scored against North Dakota.

“They’ve always played a hard style,” said Brink, who grew up in Minnesota and watched North Dakota play plenty of times. “They play within their structure, and they play a team-first game, which has led them to a lot of success.”

Brink will be matched against a couple of familiar faces this weekend. He joined Fighting Hawks defensemen Jake Sanderson and Tyler Kleven on Team USA’s gold medal-winning squad in the 2021 World Junior Championships.

“Those top defensemen are really good. It will be a challenge going against them, and we’re looking forward to it,” Brink said. “Everything is going be harder. You’ve got to take what’s given to you, you don’t want to force anything.”

That will require patience from a Pioneers team that averages five goals a game. In addition to Savoie’s 12 points, DU has five other players averaging a point of more per game. Guttman and Brink have nine, freshman center Massimo Rizzo has eight, freshman defenseman Sean Behrens has seven and senior center Brett Stapley has six.

Likewise, North Dakota has a balanced scoring attack with four players at a point per game or better.

“It’s going to be really exciting,” Brink said. “They’re always fun games. They’re a rival of ours so it should be a really good atmosphere.”

©First Line Editorial 2021