Friday, February 25, 2011

The Chris Levis evolution

Looking back at statistics from a year ago, there was a significant difference between the first half of goaltender Chris Levis' season and the second half. The netminder, who appeared in 12 total games in 2010, recorded a paltry .704 save percentage in his first five appearances of the year. Then, something changed. Following a season-worst .615 save% (eight saves and five goals-against on 13 shots) against the Edmonton Rush on March 13, Levis' game turn a turn for the better.
Two weeks after the game against Edmonton, the Windsor, Ontario native posted a season-best .833 save% against the Washington Stealth. In his final seven games of the season (including the Washington game), Levis posted a .792 save%, an improvement of saving nearly one of out of every ten shots he faced compared to his first five games played. This year, Levis has picked up where he left off. His .781 save%, tops in the West Division, earned him his first All-Star team nomination.
When asked what changes he made midway through the season last year, Levis said that it was all about his approach.
"I didn't do anything in particular to change my game other than changing my pregame ritual a bit. I think going into the second half of last year we, as a defensive unit, decided to incorporate some different rules about how 
we were going to approach each game and I think that carried through with regards to our goals-against."

No comments:

Post a Comment