By Mike Klees
UWRF Sports Information

The one consistent this season for the Falcons has been the goalie play of juniors Andy Scanlon and Dan Meneghin. Scanlon, a pre-season USCHO.com All-American selection, is one of the team’s leaders on and off the ice.

"He is an extremely good athlete all the way around and has great hand to eye coordination," said Falcon Coach Steve Freeman. "He is the total package as a goaltender."

Scanlon is coming off a career year last year in which he took home the team MVP award and earned All-NCHA and All-WIAC honorable mention honors. He finished the year with a 13-4-3 record including three shutouts. He had a .935 saves percentage and a 1.74 goals against average. He led the Falcons to the second round of the NCAA playoffs before a loss at St. Norbert. So far this year he is 3-2-2, with a goals against average of 2.64 and a saves percentage of .907.

Scanlon grew up in Apple Valley, Minn., along with many other Falcon players including senior Tony Sikich and sophomore Aaron Venasky. With the exception of one year in mites, he has played goalie his entire career. He says he likes it because it gives him the most control over the game.

Growing up Scanlon had many positive role models around him including his father and brother, both of whom played hockey. His younger sister, Jenna, is a freshman forward on the Falcons women’s team. The play of NHL goalie Martin Brodeur also made him want to become a goalie.

"As the goalie you have the most control of the game and it is also the most exciting position," said Scanlon.

After a successful high school career, he went on to Helena of the AWHL where he went 14-5 with a 2.93 goals against average and a .909 saves percentage. After juniors, he decided to come to UW-RF. He liked the small campus and knew that the Falcons were one of the top programs in the country. Scanlon’s hometown of Apple Valley is also one of Freeman’s main recruiting areas. The things that he likes most about UW-RF are the good people, the nice teachers, and of course hockey.

The Falcons have a two goalie system this year and Scanlon admits that he has mixed feelings about it. He is a very competitive person and wants to be out on the ice all the time. He claims that the system makes it hard to get into a rhythm due to the long layoff between games, but he also sees the benefit to the team by using two goalies.

One thing he likes about the system is the healthy competition between him and Meneghin. He believes it makes both of them better in the long run.

Off the ice Scanlon is like most of the other Falcon players. He enjoys playing soccer, badminton, golf and poker. He is just an all-around competitive person. Of course all of these are just hobbies to pass the time away until the next hockey practice. Scanlon is a business major and says when his hockey career comes to an end and he’s out in the work place the thing he will miss the most is the competition.

Scanlon wants to help the Falcons win a national championship and he wants to perform to the highest individual level possible. He also wants to work on some of his weaknesses.

"Sometimes I get carried away with playing the puck," said Scanlon.

As long as Scanlon is playing well the Falcons are never out of a game and he has shown his ability to carry the team in the past. If the Falcons are going to go deep in the playoffs this year he will certainly be an integral part of that run.

Andy Scanlon