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Steelheads goalie Richard Bachman makes a stop on an advancing puck during the first period of Saturday evening's game against the Victoria Salmon Kings at Qwest Arena in Boise.
Charlie Litchfield
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Bruce Mason
bmason@idahopress.com
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Imagine facing scrutiny, immense pressure and wrongful blame every game — all while being asked to stop whizzing pucks at top-notch speeds.

That's the life of a goaltender, the masked men roaming the creases on the frozen pond. There's ups. There's downs. There's many factors which can create a lingering affect on the all-important mental state. And if that's not enough to make a goalie worry, imagine having to battle with your own teammate for playing time.

No worries at Qwest Arena, though, because Idaho Steelheads goalkeepers Richard Bachman and Rejean Beauchemin enjoy the competition with one another, and their statistics reflect it — they're both ranked in the top five among ECHL goals-against leaders.

Instead of being frustrated with sitting the bench, they push each other in practice, they encourage each other during games, they even track each other's shots during games.

It's a healthy, friendly competition.

"It's great having (Beauchemin) around," said Bachman, who stopped 30 shots in the Steelheads' 5-4 overtime victory Saturday night at Qwest Arena. "He's been here, he's seen a lot of stuff I haven't seen.

"I think it really helps us."

The butterfly-style goaltenders have propelled the Steelheads (13-3-0-1) to their first-place status in the Pacific Division, and it presents a nice problem for coach Derek Laxdal.

There's Beauchemin, who opened the season with a 3-0 record, 1.67 goals against average and .940 save percentage, which ultimately earned a call-up to the AHL's Manitoba Moose. And there's Bachman, who blossomed during Beauchemin's absence into the ECHL's winningest goalie (8-2-0-1).

Both goalies know they're going to see ice time, Laxdal said, considering the Steelheads' schedule that features three games in a short time span.

"Really, it's just a matter of timing," Laxdal said. "One guy may get called up, get a few more games. One guy may get injured, get a few more games."

It's a job which requires strong mental composure. Imagine being Beauchemin or Bachman, standing idle for nearly half the game, give or take a few minutes. The play is 180 feet away from you, nobody is paying attention to you. Instead, all eyes watch the puck in the opposite zone, zipping from stick to stick, skater to skater.

But then, everyone comes back toward you — the skaters, the puck, the eyes from the crowd, and suddenly, you have to be ready again, because everyone expects you to stop it.

And if you don't, 3,946 sets of eyes are fixated on you, a red light flashes repeatedly to signal your mistake, teammates slump, fans groan, but you're expected to shake it off immediately.

Talk about pressure and being underneath a microscope — although that's no problem, Bachman said.

"You just gotta forget about it as quick as possible," he said. "Some goals are harder than others, but you really gotta move on fast, because the play is coming right back at you."

That's one way of showing composure. Another is having a good attitude about battling through the ups and downs associated with being called up to the AHL, then back to the ECHL. And so on.

Consider Beauchemin, a 2003 sixth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, who was recently loaned to the AHL's Manitoba Moose on a PTO (Professional Tryout Contract). His time in Winnipeg — where the Moose play, and his hometown — was short lived. He played one game and posted a goals-against average of 4.00.

But you won't hear him complain. Instead, he says things like, "You take that experience back here and try to improve your game."

And you won't see him throwing temper tantrums like Victoria goalie David Shantz, who smashed his stick over the crossbar in a rage upon yielding the game-winning goal Saturday night.

"I try to keep it a little bit more composed," Beauchemin said. "I try not to really show any emotion, as much as I can.

"Especially during a game, a team can feed off something like that."

A team can also feed off its puck-stopping tandem, as Idaho has done this year. Laxdal says Beauchemin has been spectacular, Bachman is high on the learning curve considering his early-season success at a young age of 22, and both support one another like a good tandem.

"They're very supportive of each other," Laxdal said. "They get along very well.

"It's a really good problem to have."