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OXFORD — Last Friday night the Nebraska-Omaha hockey players probably felt like holding a parade.

Although the Mavericks lost to the Miami RedHawks 6-3, they became just the second team this season to score more than two goals against Jeff Zatkoff. Something to tell the grandkids.

Miami's junior goaltender catches, deflects and smothers laser shots as if he were a being from a different dimension with extra sets of eyes in his shin guards and the blades of his skates.

"I've had a real good start. I'm seeing the puck well and coach (Enrico Blasi) has given me a chance to play more," Zatkoff said.

In this case, "good start" means that Zatkoff ranks first in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and third in the nation with a 1.63 goals-against average.

The native of Chesterfield, Mich. is a prime reason the RedHawks, now ranked second in both major polls, are considered a legitimate national championship contender.

How he does it

Zatkoff said he likes the way his game has progressed in his three seasons at Miami.

"If you look at my game my freshman year compared to now, you'll see a big difference," he said. "I've worked a lot on my stance and my lateral movement."

Stance is especially critical to Zatkoff because of his height — 6-foot-3.

"I try to use my size to my advantage," he said. "My freshman year I was too bent over and didn't use my chest to my advantage.

"With my lateral movement, I'm trying to set up so I'm square to the puck," Zatkoff explained. "That's one of the basics of goal tending. If you stay square to the puck, it makes it a lot easier for me and gives shooters less to shoot at."

Destined to be a goalie

Zatkoff began playing goalie when he was 8 years old.

"It's the only position I've ever played in my life," he said.

"My dad (Jeff, a basketball player at Eastern Michigan who was drafted by the Indiana Pacers) was a goalie when he was younger, and I grew up watching hockey on TV with him," Zatkoff said. "Felix Potvin of the Toronto Maple was my idol. I got all of his equipment; he had his own line."

Naturally, Zatkoff — still searching for his first career goal — has wondered over the years what it would be like to get away from the net.

"I've had a chance in the offseason to go out on the ice as a forward," he said. "It was pretty embarrassing.

"The season was over and we were out on the ice and messing around," Zatkoff continued. "It wasn't a pretty sight. I always pictured myself as a big scorer. When it came down to it, the hard thing for me was just trying to catch a pass."

This week and beyond

Zatkoff said he doesn't concentrate on his future in hockey.

"I just try to take it one day at a time," said the Miami goalie, a third-round draft choice of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. "If the opportunity comes to play at the next level, that would be great, but it's not something I think about at all."

He prefers to concentrate on Miami's next series, which starts tonight at home against a struggling Lake Superior State squad.

"We know we're not going to surprise anyone this year," Zatkoff said. "We know we're going to get everyone's best."

He added that he and his teammates "are all pretty excited, pretty happy" to be back home for the home game since Dec. 8.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.