SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that John Curry and Brad Thiessen of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have been named co-winners of the Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month award for October. Curry and Thiessen split the goaltending chores and combined to go 8-0-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage as the Penguins remained the league’s only unbeaten team.
Thiessen (4-0-0, 1.96, .930) and Curry (4-0-0, 1.72, .940) alternated starts, beginning with Thiessen’s 30-save performance in a 4-3 shootout win over Hershey on opening night, Oct. 9. Curry earned his first victory of the season with 25 saves in a 2-1 decision over Adirondack on Oct. 12. Thiessen made 30 saves in three of his four games, while Curry made a season-high 37 stops in a 2-1 shootout victory vs. Binghamton on Oct. 23. In 245 minutes of work each, Thiessen stopped 107 of 115 shots while Curry turned aside 110 of 117. The Penguins finished the month ranked first in the AHL in team defense (1.88 goals allowed per game) and first in penalty killing (93.0 percent).
In recognition of their achievement, Curry and Thiessen will each be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Penguins home game.
Curry, a fourth-year pro from Shorewood, Minn., owns a record of 84-46-6 with eight shutouts in 140 career AHL appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2007-08 and backstopped the Penguins to the Calder Cup Finals that spring. Thiessen, a native of Aldergrove, B.C., was 14-14-1 (2.45, .914) with four shutouts in 30 AHL games as a rookie with the Penguins in 2009-10. At Northeastern University, he was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s outstanding collegiate player in 2008-09.
Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month include Albany’s Jeff Frazee, Binghamton’s Barry Brust, Bridgeport’s Kevin Poulin, Chicago’s Edward Pasquale, Grand Rapids’ Joey MacDonald, Houston’s Anton Khudobin, Lake Erie’s Jason Bacashihua, Manchester’s Jeff Zatkoff, Manitoba’s Eddie Lack, Milwaukee’s Mark Dekanich, Peoria’s Ben Bishop, Portland’s David Leggio, Rochester’s Jacob Markstrom, Rockford’s Alec Richards, San Antonio’s Matt Climie, Springfield’s David LeNeveu, Syracuse’s Timo Pielmeier and Texas’s Brent Krahn.
