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Jeff Levy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeff Levy
Born (1970-12-09) December 9, 1970 (age 53)
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New Hampshire
Kalamazoo Wings
Huntington Blizzard
Jacksonville Lizard Kings
El Paso Buzzards
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
NHL draft 134th, 1990
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1990–2005

Jeffrey Levy is an American ice hockey coach and former goaltender who was an All-American for New Hampshire.[1]

Career

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Levy grew up in Salt Lake City and played high school hockey in the region. He took a chance to advance his career by moving to Minnesota for his senior year. He managed to get on the Rochester Mustangs as a third goaltender and played well in his minimal appearances. The following year he became the team's starter and began to make a name for himself. Levy helped the Mustangs win the US National junior ice hockey championship in 1990 and he used the notoriety to earn a scholarship to the University of New Hampshire.[2] Levy was also selected by the Minnesota North Stars in the NHL Draft that summer, something he admittedly didn't fully comprehend.

Levy made an immediate impact in college, taking over as the starter as a freshman and being named an All-American. He backstopped the Wildcats to the team's first winning season in 7 years and was among the best goaltenders in terms of production for the year.[3] The following season he continued to improve and led UNH to the Hockey East championship game and was named the best goaltender of the tournament. The team's stellar season also helped them earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 9 years. After his sophomore season, he was offered an NHL contract by the North Stars and he accepted.

When he appeared in training camp in the fall, Levy was not prepared for the vast difference between college and the NHL levels. He played a year in the minors with the Kalamazoo Wings but was definitely a work in progress for an extended professional career.[4] That offseason he was also invited to take part in the tryout for the US national team for the upcoming Winter Olympics and made the squad along with fellow college standouts Mike Dunham and Garth Snow. Levy ended up becoming the third goaltender on the squad and, due to a lack of available playing time, was returned to Minnesota prior to the game and did not participate. His pro career never fully materialized, unfortunately, and after getting demoted to the ECHL, Levy retired once his rookie contract with the North Stars expired.

Levy was frustrated by how his career had gone and he remained out of the game for five years. Eventually, however, he caught 'the bug' and wanted to get back into the net. He returned to minor pro hockey for the later half of the 2000 season and played in parts of five campaigns. Levy was much happier with his play after his return and believed that, if he had played as well earlier, he could have continued at a higher level for much longer.

After retiring as a player, Levy returned to the game as a coach at the junior hockey level, helping teach his son Hank how to improve his play.

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%
1988–89 Rochester Mustangs USHL 9 7 1 1
1989–90 Rochester Mustangs USHL 32 24 7 0 1823 97 0 3.19 .900
1990–91 New Hampshire Hockey East 24 15 7 2 1490 80 0 3.22 .905
1991–92 New Hampshire Hockey East 35 20 13 2 1971 108 2 3.29 .898
1992–93 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 28 8 14 1 1512 115 0 4.56 .866
1992–93 Dayton Bombers ECHL 1 0 0 1 65 3 0 2.77 .909 2
1993–94 Team USA International
1993–94 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 2 0 0 1 59 4 0 4.06 .840
1993–94 Dayton Bombers ECHL 31 10 13 3 1672 125 0 4.48 .879
1994–95 Huntington Blizzard ECHL 36 6 22 1 1844 138 0 4.49 .874 4
1999–00 Jacksonville Lizard Kings ECHL 12 2 5 0 507 43 0 5.09 .857
2000–01 El Paso Buzzards WPHL 56 23 25 7 3241 167 2 3.09 .901 7
2001–02 El Paso Buzzards CHL 29 18 8 2 1651 74 2 2.69 .905 10
2003–04 Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees CHL 48 25 17 5 2798 103 4 2.21 .922 3
2004–05 Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees CHL 45 18 14 1 2610 133 2 3.06 .897
NCAA totals 59 35 20 4 3461 191 2 3.26 .901
ECHL totals 80 18 40 5 4088 309 0 4.54 .874 6
CHL totals 122 61 49 8 7059 310 8 2.63 .909 13

Awards and honors

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Award Year
USHL Goaltender of the Year 1989–90
All-Hockey East Second Team 1990–91 [5]
Hockey East All-Rookie Team 1990–91 [6]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1990–91 [1]
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 1992 [7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Jeff Levy reminisces about hockey in Utah during the 80s and the modern development process for young goalies". Utah Puck Report. April 2, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "MHOC Year-by-Year Quick Look". New Hampshire Wildcats. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "SALT LAKE HOMECOMING WILL BE BRIEF ONE FOR LEVY". Deseret News. October 10, 1992. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "Hockey East All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hockey East Rookie of the Year
1990–91
Succeeded by