The goalie with the best stats in Hockey East so far this season, Devon Levi, and the goalie with the best stats in the ECAC, Yaniv Perets, are good friends and former youth hockey teammates who train together in the summer and live in the same Montreal suburb.
Northeastern’s Levi has been in the spotlight lately, leading the No. 13 Huskies on a 10-1-1 run before the semester break. I wrote about him recently in this space.
Now it’s time to give Quinnipiac’s Perets his due.
Perets is 9-0-2 for the No. 2 team in the nation and has allowed only 10 goals. His save percentage is .944, good for fifth in Division 1, and his goals-against average is 0.87, which is first in D-1.
And with six shutouts, Perets is tied for first nationally with Levi and Dryden McKay of Minnesota State.
Not that Perets is tracking his numbers.
When I spoke to him on the phone this week, he politely asked that I not quote any of his statistics – dazzling though they may be -- during our interview.
“I don’t look at my stats during the year. I like to stay away from all that stuff until the end,’’ he said.
All Perets cares about is the next shot.
Like Levi, he does breathing exercises during timeouts.
“I’ll go to the bench or just stand there (in the crease). I just focus on my breathing. I do that all the time. It helps,’’ he said.
“It’s all about bringing you back to the present moment, awareness, so you’re not just focused on the storylines from the outside. You just focus on the job.’’
Perets’ relationship with Levi goes back a few years. Both are from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, and met while playing for the Lac St-Louis Lions.
“We’ve been really good friends since we were 13 years old. We played together back in peewees as goalie partners. We got along super, super well. Then we played in bantam together,’’ said Perets.
“Over the summer we skate together and work out together. We do a bunch of different training together off the ice. We talk hockey all the time. We’ll always keep in touch. We live two minutes apart from each other.
“I’m so happy he’s doing so well. He’s a great goalie and an even better person. He really works hard. I’m not surprised. He’s an amazing goalie.’’
From Lac St-Louis, Perets moved on to the Brockville Braves of the CCHL and then to the Boston Junior Bruins of the NCDC. He played two seasons for the Junior Bruins, helped them to the 2018-19 Dineen Cup and was named Goaltender of the Year.
“I honestly can’t say enough about my time with the Junior Bruins. I loved it. The staff there, Coach (Mike) Anderson, Coach (Bobby) Butler and the Masters (brothers Peter and Chris), they run a great program. I’m very thankful for everything that Coach Anderson did. That’s where I got my (Quinnipiac) commitment (in 2018),’’ Perets said.
“Those guys worked really hard for me, so I appreciate everything they’ve done for me. I played a ton of games and we had a great team. We won a championship and I made friends I still talk to today.’’
From the NCDC, Perets went to the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. He played a full season there in 2019-20, posting a 25-8-2 record. With the BCHL delayed in getting its season off the ground a year ago, Perets enrolled at Quinnipiac for the second semester and saw mop-up duty in two games.
For the 2021-22 season, the Quinnipiac coaching staff brought in a grad transfer goalie with four seasons of experience in Dylan St. Cyr, formerly of Notre Dame.
Perets didn’t let it bother him.
“I didn’t focus on that. I just tried to get better every single day over the course of the summer. Coming into the season I really didn’t have any expectations. I said, ‘You know what? Whatever is going to happen is going to happen and as long as I do my job, I think I’ll be OK.’
“I wasn’t really focused on the storyline or any of that stuff. If I come in, practice hard, work hard and show that I can do my job, then I think that I’ll get an opportunity.’’
Perets was right. He was in the net for the season opener and hasn’t looked back, starting 11 of the Bobcats’ 19 games.
Quinnipiac doesn’t give up many opportunities and that style of play has helped Perets, who hasn’t yet faced 20 shots in a game.
“Our head coach (Rand Pecknold) and our assistant coaches (Joe Dumais and Mike Corbett), just the kind of culture we have here, we’re really big on details and making sure everyone contributes. You’ve got to play defense if you want to play offense,’’ Perets said.
“We really preach that – details and making sure. The guys have been great every single day and that carries over into games. They always have my back. They really sell out and buy into what the coaches are trying to teach.’’
Perets’ first shutout of the season came against Northeastern and his friend Levi, 3-0, in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Worcester on Oct. 9.
There was no chirping when they spoke after the game, Perets said.
“Not at all. It’s just a game, you know? But it was definitely cool to play against him. He obviously played a great game, too, so I was happy for him,’’ he said.
With both Quinnipiac and Northeastern having strong seasons so far, who is to say that the good friends won’t face each other again down the road in, say, an NCAA regional?
FREE-AGENT WATCH
Matt Crasa, F, UMass-Lowell
A freshman, Crasa has shown a deft scoring touch through his first 16 college games with 7-5-12. His sweet spot in free agency is a couple of years away, but he’s a player worth keeping an eye on.
Casey Dornbach, F, Harvard
Dornbach, a senior, has played up and down the Crimson lineup and has been productive with 76 points in 75 career games. He’s a good candidate for an AHL deal at season’s end.
Corey Andonovski, F, Princeton
The Tigers’ top forward, Andonovski has already equaled his career-best with six goals. An ECHL deal should be well within his reach.
