Niagara Gazette
December 07 2006
By Tim Schmitt
LEWISTON — Forget the pucks for a second and realize the battles Niagara University goalie Allen Barton has faced have been bigger than stopping a 3-inch slab of vulcanized rubber.
First, the Spencerport native is diabetic, so he's constantly monitoring his blood sugar. He wears a meter/pump when he's off the ice and every intermission means another chance to check his levels.
When he failed to get on the ice during his junior season — watching as star Jeff Van Nyattan evolved into one of the school's greats — after occasional duty in his first two years at NU, Barton and his confidence were also feuding.
Then in one of his four starts this season, against then-ranked RPI, Barton was up against a case of what he assumes was the flu. After leading the Purple Eagles to a 5-3 victory, and knocking the host Big Red from the championship of its own tournament, Barton was so ill he was rushed to the hospital for an IV.
None of it is keeping Barton, the Purple Eagles' biggest surprise of the season, from enjoying what's been a dream senior year.
"It's been awesome. It's a great feeling, but at the same time, I always knew I still had it in me," Barton said. "It was just a question of finding confidence. Confidence is the key. I had no confidence. Over the summer, I just worked hard and I knew my time would come."
Barton started working with NU's new goalie coach, former Purple Eagle great Greg Gardner, and the results came quickly. The two have known each other since Barton came to Monteagle Ridge, as Barton worked Gardner's summer goalie camps.
"I've known Barts for four years now. He's a real good kid. He just wants to win," Gardner said. "I don't know what my expectations for him were, but as a friend, I asked him to just give me your best effort in practice. Work harder than you can imagine. Work on a few things with rebounds, and I'll go to bat for you. If you don't do those things, there's nothing I can do for you."
Barton's given his all. After shining in practice, Gardner and head coach Dave Burkholder decided to give Barton a chance.
He's come up big in his last season in purple, winning three of his four starts and tying the other. While sophomore Juliano Pagliero started the season as the clear-cut No. 1 goalie, Barton has given Burkholder, who admits he had Barton penciled in "for depth," an additional option in two-day series.
Gardner chalks it up to "senioritis," knowing that his college career is coming to a close.
"It all starts with work ethic and he worked so hard that we had to give him a look. He was playing so well in practice we had to reconsider," Gardner said. "He's really cherishing the moment and giving his A-game every night. As a coach, that's all you can ask for."
That even means trying to start one of the two games during this weekend's College Hockey America series against Wayne State, despite suffering a broken middle finger last week. Barton has been held out of practice, but has been cleared to play if he can handle the pain.
With only a few months left in his senior year, Barton said he's willing to make that sacrifice.
"I can't take anything for granted," he said. "Maybe I took it for granted in the past. Now just being able to start games and win games for the guys in the locker room, it's awesome and if I can keep doing that, that would be an ideal situation for me."
