It didn’t take Mac Carruth long to settle back in with the Portland Winterhawks.
After being sent back down from the AHL, Carruth was named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week on Tuesday after winning his first two starts with the Winterhawks, including a shutout, with a 1.00 goals-against average of 1.00 and .963 save percentage.
A seventh-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL draft, Carruth was surprisingly sent back to the WHL for his overage season by the Rockford Icehogs on October 6, creating a crowded crease in in Portland.
The 20-year-old pitched a 26-save shutout in his first game back, earning first star honours in a 4-0 victory over the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday. Carruth stopped another 26 shots in a 5-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday.
The Shorewood, MN native is playing in his fourth WHL season with the Winterhawks, winning the Vaughn CHL Goalie of the Week award twice last season. He finished 2011-12 with a 42-17-2-0 record, two shutouts, a goals-against-average of 2.96 and save percentage of .904.
Carruth’s return to Portland creates a conundrum for the Winterhawks, who were already getting great play from fellow 20-year-old Cam Lanigan, but had seen promising would-be No.1 Brendan Burke struggle early on. The son of Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke, Brendan was 1-3 with an .864 save percentage to start his NHL draft season.
Also considered for this week’s award was JP Anderson of the Sarnia Sting who posted a perfect 3-0-0-0 record with a 1.92 goals-against-average and .921 save percentage, and Antoine Bibeau of the P.E.I Rocket who went 2-0-0-0 with a goals-against-average of 1.47 and save percentage of .935.
The rest of the 2012-13 Vaughn CHL Goaltenders of the Week to date:
Oct. 1 – Oct. 7 : Eetu Laurikainen, Swift Current Broncos
Sept. 24 – Sept. 30 : Sébastien Auger, Saint John Sea Dogs
Sept. 20 – Sept. 23 : John Gibson, Kitchener Rangers