By Mike Klees
UWRF Sports Information

A good goaltender is the key to any hockey team. He is the last line of defense against the opposing team.

The Falcons are lucky enough to have two great goaltenders, both of whom have the ability to change the game or even win the game single handily. Junior Dan Meneghin is the one that has come out of the gate the fastest this year.

Meneghin has started the year 5-1-0 for the Falcons with a 1.69 goals against average and .950 save percentage. He is coming off a great year in 2004 when he posted an 8-2-1 record with a 2.03 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

Meneghin had a career year in 2003 when he went an amazing 13-1-0 with a 1.72 GAA and a .927 save percentage. He was second in the nation in winning percentage, third in goals against average, and fourth in saves percentage. Meneghin has also preformed well in the classroom making the NCHA All-Academic team in 2004 and the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll in 2003.

"He is a real cool customer. Nothing rattles him back there and I think the team feeds off of that," said Falcon Coach Steve Freeman. "He's has really stepped it up this year for us."

Meneghin claims that his greatest strength as a goalie is his consistency. He says that the most important part of being a goalie is being able to control the mental part of game and concentrating on what you're doing.

This is especially tough on nights when a goalie don't face a lot of shots. He need to find a way to concentrate on the game. Meneghin also says that if you let it in a bad goal or have a bad game you need to be able to forget about and not let it bother you. He admitted that his puck handling is the part of his game that needs the most work.

Meneghin grew up near Vancouver in Surrey, BC., where he began playing hockey at a very young age. His hockey idol was fellow Canadian Patrick Roy. He started out playing goalie about half the time, but by the time he was 12 he moved to the position full time.

"The only way my older brothers would let me play with them was if I played goalie," said Meneghin.

Meneghin attended Holy Cross High School in Surrey and then went on to play junior hockey. He played one year of Junior B and four years of Junior A. While he played for the Barnaby Bulldogs he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and while he was playing with the Victoria Salsa of the BCHL he started in the league's All-Star game. After five years of junior hockey Meneghin came to play for the Falcons and joined a good group of goalies including fellow junior Andy Scanlon.

Meneghin believes the team has what it takes to win it all due to the immense amount of talent that they have and the closeness that the team demonstrates on and off the ice. The one weakness they have, according to Meneghin, is that the team plays inconsistently at times. He especially likes the defense that he has in front of him this year. He likes that teammates are getting down and blocking shots and doing a good job of clearing out the front of the net.

Meneghin hopes to continue playing hockey after college if opportunities are available, but otherwise he plans to start a career. He is an accounting major and is a very good student. During his free time Meneghin enjoys playing sports, watching movies and just hanging out with friends.

Like most of the Falcons his favorite thing to do is play hockey.

"My favorite part of playing hockey is just coming to rink everyday - that is what I am going to miss the most," said Meneghin.

Dan Meneghin