What can Penn State hockey expect in goal next season with Peyton Jones off to the AHL?
With former Penn State goaltender Peyton Jones graduating this past spring and heading to Loveland, Colorado, to play for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, Oskar Autio will be taking over the spot between the pipes this coming season.
The Finn looks to be Penn State’s primary goaltender during his junior season. In five games last season, Autio had a save percentage of .930 and a 1.87 goals-against average (GAA).
Top goaltenders in the National Hockey League have a GAA between 1.85 to 2.10. The lower a goaltender’s GAA is, the fewer goals the goaltender allowed in a game.
In his freshman season in 2018-19, Autio played in three games. He had a save percentage of .894 and a GAA of 3.42.
Autio’s improvement, even with a small sample size, is promising. His sophomore season he tied the single-season program record with two shutouts in games against Merrimack (7-0) and Niagara (2-0).
Historically, Autio’s record leans more toward his sophomore season. With the USHL’s Chicago Steel, he played in 39 games with a save percentage of .904 and a GAA of 2.90. During the Chicago Steel’s 2017-18 playoffs, Autio’s save percentage increased to .923, but his GAA “decreased” slightly, falling to 2.96.
Autio’s predecessor, Jones, had a very different experience in his freshman and sophomore season.
Jones started in 36 games his freshman year and had a .904 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA. He started in 35 games during his sophomore season and had a .905 save percentage and a 3.03 GAA.
Playing many games and starting them gave Jones the opportunity to improve and cement himself as a goalie with the program.
Incoming goaltender Liam Soulière will presumably be where Autio was his freshman season — starting a few games, but mainly getting adjusted to the program and letting Autio have his turn.
Coming from the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies, Soulière had a save percentage of .917 and a GAA of 3.37 in 15 games during the 2019-20 season.
As Autio has been with the program for two years and improved considerably between his freshman and sophomore years, and has the opportunity to start the season off strong and leave a legacy of his own.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 5:05 PM.