While the Pensacola Ice Pilots have scored a league-best 56 goals in 14 games, they also have yielded that many.
Their 4.00 goals-against average ranks 28th of 29 East Coast Hockey League teams, as does their goaltenders' .881 save percentage.
Given these goaltending indicators, Coach Todd Gordon made a major change Thursday by coming to terms with free agent Maxime Gingras.
"He's somebody who could put us over the top," Gordon said. "Something we haven't had this year is a goaltender win us hockey games."
The Pilots are only two games above .500 (8-6-0, 16 points) despite having four of the ECHL's top 10 scorers.
Gingras is 58-23-7 in his ECHL career, including 30-13-3 in 1998-99 when he was the ECHL goaltender and rookie of the year while leading the Richmond Renegades to the Kelly Cup finals. He also played in the ECHL all-star game that season, when he sported a 2.26 GAA and .924 save percentage.
The 5-foot-6, 160-pound Gingras has dabbled in higher leagues, but spent most of last season with Richmond (11-5-3) and Mobile (12-4-1), the Pilots' opponent at 7:05 p.m. today at the Pensacola Civic Center. Gingras probably will start.
Gordon explained that Gingras was available because Mobile signed two other goalies while Gingras was trying to make the San Jose Sharks' roster. When Gingras was released, Mobile already was set and had relinquished his ECHL rights.
"To get a guy of that caliber, we couldn't pass it up," said Gordon, who made room by subtracting rookie goalie Michal Lanicek (4-1-0, 3.69 GAA, .890 save percentage).
Lanicek, who is under contract with Tampa Bay, was re-assigned by the Lightning to the Muskegon (Mich.) Fury of the United Hockey League.
At 23, Gingras is a proven veteran compared to 20-year-olds Lanicek and Evgeny Konstantinov (4-5-0, 4.02 GAA, .879). Gordon said Gingras and Konstantinov, another Tampa Bay-contracted player, will push each other in practice and for playing time.
Gordon also expects positive results in the team's penalty killing, which ranks 28th at 73.8 percent (22 power-play goals allowed in 84 chances).
"It'll get better as our goaltender gets better," said Gordon, calling the goalie the top penalty killer. "It'll make a big difference."
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