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Rick Best

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Rick Best
Born (1944-06-28) June 28, 1944 (age 80)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Played for Michigan Tech
Dayton Gems
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1964–1968

Richard W. Best is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who was an All-American for Michigan Tech.[1]

Career

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Best was recruited to Michigan Tech in 1963. After a year with the freshman team, Best began playing on the varsity team and split the starting role with Tony Esposito. Despite Esposito being seen as one of, if not the best goaltender in the WCHA, head coach John MacInnes saw the two as roughly equal. Best started 14 games to Esposito's 17 and the pair combined for 24 wins and led the Huskies to a 2nd-place finish in the conference. MTU overcame North Dakota in the WCHA championship game to capture their third conference title in six years. The Huskies received the top western seed for the NCAA Tournament and, with MacInnes continuing to rotate his goaltenders, Rick Best started the semifinal game against Brown. Best rewarded MacInnes' trust by not allowing a single goal in the game, producing the first shutout in tournament history.[2] After blanking the Bears, some were surprised when Best was not in goal for the championship game, but when Michigan Tech won 8–2 there was little reason to criticize the move.[3]

Best continued to share the MTU net with Esposito for the next two seasons, helping the team earn the top seed in the conference tournament the following year, only to see the Huskies stymied in the second round by an upstart Michigan State squad. As a senior Best was named to the All-WCHA Second Team and was an All-American. He shared the later honor with Esposito, and the two became the only goaltenders on the same team to both be named All-Americans in the same year (as of 2020).

After graduating, best played one season of professional hockey for the Dayton Gems before retiring. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.[4]

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1961–62 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 39 9 22 8 2350 168 0 4.30 .837 — — — — — — — —
1962–63 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 37 14 20 3 2245 142 1 3.83 .880 3 0 3 180 18 0 6.00 —
1964–65 Michigan Tech WCHA 14 — — — 840 42 1 3.00 .893 — — — — — — — —
1965–66 Michigan Tech WCHA 13 — — — — — 0 2.62 .901 — — — — — — — —
1966–67 Michigan Tech WCHA 15 — — — 900 45 1 3.00 .895 — — — — — — — —
1967–68 Dayton Gems IHL 31 — — — 1750 123 0 4.22 — 7 — — 442 24 0 3.24 —
MJHL totals 76 23 42 11 4595 310 1 4.05 .860 — — — — — — — —
NCAA totals 42 — — — — — 2 2.88 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1966–67 [5]
AHCA West All-American 1966–67 [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1966-1967 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "Best, Esposito were formidable Tech duo". The Dailt Mining Gazette. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "Class Ring Answers, Hockey Memories, and More!". Tech Alum Newsletter. March 20, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "Richard W. Best". Michigan Tech Huskies. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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