John Curry (ice hockey)

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Goaltender
catches = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 183
team = Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
league = AHL
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date|1984|2|27|mf=y
birth_place = Shorewood, Minnesota, U.S.


career_start = 2007|

John Curry (born February 27, 1984, in Shorewood, MN, U.S.) is an American ice hockey goaltender.

Family

John Curry is the oldest child of parents Steve and Kathy Curry. He has one younger sister, Megan Curry, who recently graduated from Breck School and is now attending Amherst College.

Early playing career

John Curry played for the Breck School Mustangs, where he compiled a 1.80 GAA as team captain and MVP in his senior season of 2001–02. After graduating from Breck, Curry attended a year at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, during which he achieved a 1.46 GAA and a .920 save percentage, and was named a New England Prep School West First Team All-Star.

Boston University

After high school, Curry received offers to play for numerous Division III colleges, yet enrolled at Boston University as a walk-on third-string goaltender. In his freshman year at BU, Curry played only the final 5:10 against Niagara University, filling in for starter Sean Fields in a 5–1 victory. In the 2004–05 season, Curry became the first-string goalie, posting an 18–11–3 in-conference record, participating in his first NCAA tournament, and winning his first Beanpot final, 3–2, over Northeastern University. As a junior, Curry was named to the RBK All-American second team and was a first-team Hockey East All-Star. He started in 36 of 37 games, attaining a 24–8–4 record that included a 12-game winning streak from December 30, 2005 to February 13, 2006. The team went on to win the Hockey East Championship and Curry played in another NCAA tournament. For the season he garnered awards including Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week (four times), Player of the Week, and Goaltender of the Month. Curry was named assistant captain of the Terriers in the 2006–2007 season, his final season, yet again improving his performance statistically to date and standing out as a key player in the clutch. He again won the Beanpot final, posting a career Beanpot record of 5–0 and setting a record .985 save percentage in his final tournament. He went on to win both the Beanpot MVP and the Beanpot's Eberly Award for goaltending. In 2007, Curry was also named a finalist for college hockey's top-player, the Hobey Baker Award, while winning Hockey East Player of the Year and getting the Hockey East Three-Stars award. Curry's college career ended abruptly when he surrendered 5 goals on 26 shots in Michigan State's first round 2007 NCAA Tournament upset of the Terriers. [http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/9NCAA/2007/midwest1_0528.htm]

Professional career

Curry was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2007. He was expected to compete with David Brown for the starting goaltending job on the Wheeling Nailers in the 2007–08 season.

With the injury to Marc Andre Fleury, WBS starter Ty Conklin was called up to the Penguins at the end of November 2007, opening the door for Curry to start in WBS. [cite news |first= Dave|last= Molinari|title= Curry adds some spice to franchise's goaltending|url= http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08258/912155-61.stm|publisher= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date= 2008-09-14|accessdate=2008-09-15] In December 2007 he was named AHL Rookie of the Month, posting a GAA of 1.42 and .939% save percentage. Throughout the rest of the regular season, he established himself as the starter for the team, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie team. In the Calder Cup playoffs, Curry was solid, and backstopped his team to the finals, eventually losing to the Chicago Wolves in 6 games.

References

External links

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