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NMU goalie Tolvanen signs AHL deal with Syracuse

By Journal Sports Staff

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Two Northern Michigan University seniors have landed professional hockey opportunities this week and a third got his chance on Saturday.

Goaltender Atte Tolvanen has now followed teammates Troy Loggins and Adam Rockwood to the American Hockey League after he signed a contract with the Syracuse Crunch, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s minor league affiliate. The contract is for the remainder of this season.

Tolvanen was both the WCHA’s Goaltender of the Year and an All-WCHA First Team honoree the past two seasons. He was also a finalist for WCHA Player of the Year this season along with Loggins and defenseman Phil Beaulieu.

The Finnish native led the conference in wins (18), shutouts (five), saves (699) and shots faced (754). He is also currently the nation’s leader in minutes played this season with 2,374:50.

Not only that, but Tolvanen broke four school records this year. He’s now the Wildcats’ leader in career shutouts (13), games played (137), saves (3,564) and the single-game save record holder with 58. Tolvanen’s NMU career ended with a 62-58-13 record along with a 2.41 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.

If that wasn’t enough, Tolvanen became only the fourth goaltender in NCAA history to score a goal off his own shot when he scored an empty-netter during a win over Michigan Tech in December.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writer Ryan Stieg. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.

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