Winterhawks’ Hofer named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week
Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that St. Louis Blues prospect Joel Hofer of the Portland Winterhawks is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the regular season week ending February 17 with a 2-0-0-0 record including one shutout victory with a goals-against average of 1.00 and save percentage of .967.
Hofer claims the honour for the first time this season after turning aside 59 shots in two games last week to help the Winterhawks improve to 36-16-3-3 on the season. Against the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday, Hofer stopped 25 shots in an eventual 2-0 victory en route to first star honours and his third shutout of the season. The following night, he came up with a 34-save performance against the Seattle Thunderbirds in a 5-2 win as he improved to 13-25-2-1 on the season.
The 18-year-old Winnipeg, Man., native is competing in his second season in the Western Hockey League. Acquired from the Swift Current Broncos in a January trade, Hofer has notched a .920 SV% and 2.76 GAA in 11 games since the deal.
For his WHL career, the 6-foot-3, 157-pound netminder has appeared in 60 WHL regular season games, posting a 21-28-3-2 record, 0.909 SV%, 3.40 GAA and four shutouts.
Also considered for the award this week was Jonathan Lemieux of the Val d’Or Foreurs who posted a 2-0-0-0 record in two appearances for a GAA of 1.00 SV% of .969. In the OHL, Kai Edmonds of the Barrie Colts went 2-0-0-0, stopping 51 shots for a GAA of 1.50 and SV% of .944.
Up next, the Portland Winterhawks will visit the Tri-City Americans on Friday, February 22 (7:05 p.m. PT) at Toyota Centre.
2018-19 Vaughn CHL Goaltenders of the Week – Regular Season:
Feb. 12 – Feb. 18: Joel Hofer (Portland Winterhawks)
Feb. 4 – Feb. 11: Mads Søgaard (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 3: Jet Greaves (Barrie Colts)
Jan. 21 – Jan. 27: Dustin Wolf (Everett Silvertips)
Jan. 14 – Jan. 20: Olivier Rodrigue (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
Jan. 7 – Jan. 13: Kevin Mandolese (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles)
Dec. 31 – Jan. 6: Ivan Prosvetov (Saginaw Spirit)
Dec. 24 – Dec. 30: Cedrick Andree (Ottawa 67’s)
Dec. 10 – Dec. 16: Mads Søgaard (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9: Dustin Wolf (Everett Silvertips)
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sudbury Wolves)
Nov. 19 – Nov. 25: Kyle Jessiman (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Nov. 12 – Nov. 18: Ian Scott (Prince Albert Raiders)
Nov. 5 – Nov. 11: Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires)
Oct. 29 – Nov. 4: Joseph Raaymakers (London Knights)
Oct. 22 – Oct. 28: Stephen Dhillon (Niagara IceDogs)
Oct. 15 – Oct. 21: Émile Samson (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)
Oct. 8 – Oct. 14: Alexis Gravel (Halifax Mooseheads)
Oct. 1 – Oct. 7: Trent Miner (Vancouver Giants)
Sept. 24 – Sept. 30: Luke Richardson (Kitchener Rangers)
Sept. 19 – Sept. 23: Hunter Jones (Peterborough Petes)
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 350 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.