DeSerres nets top goalie award

By Curtis Wolff

Dinos goaltender Jacob DeSerres can add another accolade to his already impressive resume. The third-year athlete has been named Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s Goaltender of the Year.

“Jake is very deserving of this award,” said Dinos head coach Mark Howell in a press release. “He has been consistent from start to finish this year, has played tremendous hockey and helped us win games. He has been a leader and one of the best goaltenders in the league, and it’s fitting that he receives this recognition.”

DeSerres finished the year with a 15–6 record including four shutouts, posting a 2.21 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. While University of Alberta goaltenders Kurtis Mucha and and Luke Siemens also had impressive years behind a stacked Golden Bears squad, DeSerres earned the Canada West nomination for his phenomenal performance behind a less prolific Dinos team.

DeSerres was the only goaltender to shutout the high-flying Golden Bears this season, in an impressive 32-save performance on Nov. 22, 2013. The victory briefly allowed the Dinos to pull ahead of the Golden Bears in the standings and take top spot in the national rankings a couple weeks later.

DeSerres joined the Dinos after an adventurous junior career. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round of the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft after two stellar years backstopping the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. Following a rough third season in Seattle, DeSerres was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings and led them to the Memorial Cup Finals in 2010.

In 2011, DeSerres joined the Saint John Sea Dogs as an overager and led the team — which featured current NHLers Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco and Simon Despres — to a Memorial Cup victory.