MITCH O'KEEFE EARNS CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK RECOGNITION

Ferris State Goaltender Posts His Fourth Career Shutout In Saturday's Win Over Notre Dame

Mitch O'Keefe earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week accolades with his stellar performance in the Bulldogs' 3-0 home league victory over nationally-ranked Notre Dame last Saturday (Oct. 27) night.

Junior Mitch O'Keefe (Almonte, Ontario) of the 2007-08 Ferris State University men's ice hockey team has been chosen as this week's (Oct. 29) Central Collegiate Hockey Association's (CCHA) Goaltender of the Week as a result of his performance in the Bulldogs' 3-0 league win over nationally-ranked Notre Dame last Saturday (Oct. 27).

O'Keefe recorded his fourth career shutout with a season-high 37 saves in helping Ferris State to the shutout victory over the 12th-ranked Fighting Irish last Saturday (Oct. 27) evening at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. As a result, he was picked as the Perani Cup's First Star of the Game.

In his two appearances this season, O'Keefe is 1-0-1 between the posts with a 0.96 goals-against average (two goals allowed) and a .967 save percentage (59 saves) in 124:57 minutes of ice time. The 6-2, 218-pound netminder turned aside 22 shots in his initial appearance this season (Oct. 20) which resulted in a 2-2 non-league overtime tie versus Wayne State in Big Rapids.

O'Keefe has compiled a 22-31-11 career mark with a 2.78 goals-against average (175 goals allowed) and an .898 saves percentage (1,541 saves) in 3776:49 minutes of action. The 2005-06 FSU Rookie of the Year has accumulated four career shutouts to date in 64 career outings.

Among the program's all-time leaders, O'Keefe currently ranks second in goals-against average (2.78), fourth in both save percentage (.898) and shutouts (four), eighth in minutes played (3776:49), tied for eighth in games played (64), 11th in saves (1,541), and is tied for 11th in victories (22).

O'Keefe garnered CCHA Goaltender of the Week accolades a season ago (Nov. 27) after attaining both CCHA Goaltender of the Week (Nov. 14) and CCHA Rookie of the Week (Oct. 24) laurels during his initial collegiate campaign in 2005-06.

Ferris State is currently 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in CCHA play for the 2007-08 season.

The Bulldogs return to the ice this upcoming weekend (Nov. 2 and 4) for a two-game CCHA series against the Ohio State Buckeyes at OSU's Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The puck will drop for this Friday's (Nov. 2) opener at 7:05 p.m. (EDT) while a 2:05 p.m. (EDT) opening faceoff is slated for this Sunday's (Nov. 4) series finale.