January 16, 1977
“I’m a standup goalie. But don’t make me out to be an Eddie Giacomin, cause I don’t get involved with defensive play.” Spoken like a true goalie. Dean Richardson, the Inquirer’s Athlete of the Week, has been frustrating pucks all year, refusing to go down on the ice and let the rubber disc plop into the net. Which may explain why Abington, the defending state ice hockey champion, is 7-0-1 in the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League. Richardson is the last man in the defense but the first man in goals yielded, with a 1.10 average. “Following the action is hard,” says Richardson. “I try to concentrate on the puck and forget about the players.” Richardson’s concentration, combined with his quick right hand and agile 5-6 frame, has added up to only 8 goals yielded this season in a league loaded with scoring. “He practices his angles well,” says his coach, Jim Garvin. “It is the hardest thing to master. You can learn the angles, but you can’t teach the reflexes. He has great reflex action.”
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Conestoga, the Northern Division leader, which has scored 65 goals (tops), found out just how quick Richardson’s reflexes are recently in a 2-2 tie. “He came up with outstanding saves,” Garvin remembers. “Under great pressure, but he kept us in the game.” The pressure, the shots, the action, it is something that Richardson should be used to by now. In his third year of scholastic hockey, the senior has had plenty of work, even during the spring and summer. “I like all sports, but I only have time to play hockey, so I do it year-round. I play on the Little Flyers, and you can really see how hockey is growing.” The sport has grown considerably despite the expenses of ice time, equipment and insurance (totals $200 per player). Unfortunately, college hockey coaches in the area haven’t caught on in recruiting. “They won’t have to look to the Boston-New England area because we have kids right here, like Dean, who could play college hockey,” says Garvin.
With five shutouts behind him, what is Richardson looking toward this season? “Another state title, he says. And maybe another MVP award to match last year’s trophy.
