In 2024-25, Miami’s .865 team save percentage was dead last in the NCAA, four full thousandths clear of the entire Division I field.
So it’s not surprising that the RedHawks hit the reset button in net.
Miami features an all-new goalie corps this season — two freshmen and a sophomore that played for a Canadian university last season.
“All three guys are super competitive, all three guys have stood out (in practice), and three guys have been at different times the best guy in the net,” Miami coach Anthony Noreen said. “There’s been a day that’s ended and, Benji’s unbelievable today, and there’s times where Matteo and there’s times where Shika (dominates). We really like that the three of them get along, they push each other. What we’ve really enjoyed in practice is just their second and third effort and their willingness and want to stay with plays.”
In Part III of our 2025-26 preview, we take a look at the goalies. Parts I and II can be found here: Forwards | Defensemen
WHO’S BACK: None.
WHO’S GONE (transfers in parentheses): Brett Miller, Bruno Bruveris (RPI), Ethan Dahlmeir (Minn.-Duluth).
WHO’S NEW (transfers’ previous teams in parentheses, others are freshmen): Shika Gadzhiev, Benji Motew, Matteo Drobac (Western Ontario).
ANALYSIS: This season’s Miami goalie crop will be extremely raw, as none of its three netminders have logged a minute on NCAA ice.
Shika Gadzhiev and Benji Motew are both freshmen this season, and Matteo Drobac is a sophomore.
On paper, Gadzhiev boasts the best statistical resume and appears the frontrunner for the majority starter job.
Gadzhiev, who holds both Slovakian and Russian citizenship, backstopped USHL Muskegon to a Clark Cup title, going 8-1 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. His .909 save percentage last regular season was among the USHL leaders.
Though he nailed all of his academic requirements, due to new NCAA compliance rules, the Russian-born netminder has battled eligibility issues this off-season — through no fault of his own — up to and including opening weekend. He has a great chance to compete for or own the starting job the next few seasons.
Drobac played for Western Ontario University last season after backstopping Hamilton and Brantford of the OHL for four years.
The Croatian and Canadian dual citizen went 13-10 with a 2.72 GAA, and in a small sample size, posted a .922 playoff save percentage. Drobac’s best OHL season was in 2011-12, when he finished with a 19-3 record, a 2.57 GAA and a save percentage of .905.
CHL and U Sports (Canada’s version of the NCAA) athletes have never been allowed to join NCAA problems previously, so from an expectations and projections standpoint, college hockey is in uncharted space this season.
Motew played for Maryland and Corpus Christi of the NAHL — a step below the USHL — but joins the RedHawks after playing some of the best hockey of his career in the postseason this spring.
Going back to Tier II juniors with AJHL Humboldt, the Chicago-area product has played in 29 playoff games and had a save percentage above .930 each season his teams have advanced to the postseason.
Motew’s numbers were better in his stint at Maryland the first half of 2024-25, as he posted a 2.43 GAA and .911 save percentage vs. 3.40 and .894, respectively, in a small sample size with Corpus Christi prior to his playoff run.
“All three are different — they’re different in their styles, they’re different a little bit in the backgrounds, all three are young, none of the three of them have ever played a Division I college hockey game, so there’s obviously a lot of youth there and greenness back there, but we also think all three are capable,” Noreen said. “I think it’s a group that will continue to get better, I think it’s a group that we see strides from just in the short time here. They’re going to get meaningful minutes and meaningful opportunities and just like the rest of our group, they just need to continuously be intentional with every rep that we have, and we need to keep getting better.”
The RedHawks are not unfamiliar with having goaltending groups that are extremely young. Following Jeff Zatkoff’s early departure in 2008, Miami was stuck in a pattern with two freshman starters both in 2008-09 and 2012-13, with the Cody and Connor duo and the Jay and McKay tandem.
But those seasons ended up being two of the most memorable in Miami history. In 2009, Miami came within a minute of a national championship, and the RedHawks advanced to the regional final in 2013, the last time they won an NCAA Tournament game.
Last season, Noreen none of his three goalies played more than 19 games, but his third netminder logged 347 minutes in seven games, so he spread the playing time out.
Like 2024-25, Noreen is looking for one of his young goalies to play his way into a primary starting role.
“We’re pretty open on that,” Noreen said. “We’re going to obviously get guys opportunities early. One of the things that we’ve talked about is: Some Miami teams in the past when they were really good, where they were splitting – you had a Friday night guy and a Saturday night guy – and you look around college hockey and there’s some teams where the same guy plays every game the entire season because of the kind of a break you get in between and the limited amount of games. I don’t think there’s an exact science to it, I think it’s just kind of dependent on the guys and what they look like and what workload they’re capable of and just continuously evaluating that.”
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