MEET THE PG'S STELLAR SIX
NORTH ALLEGHENY Ϙ SENIOR Ϙ GOALIE
It didn’t take long for Richard Karapandi to decide he wanted to be a goaltender.
“When I was like 2 or 3 maybe, for Christmas my dad got me this pair of street hockey goalie pads and I would always wear them around the house and have them shoot on me,” Karapandi said. “Ever since then I just loved it.”
Karapandi quickly traded in the asphalt version for the on-ice model and has since joined a recent spurt of top-flight netminders who have gone through the North Allegheny program.
“I think the biggest difference between him and some of the other goalies we’ve had — and they’ve all been good goalies — but if you look at who has stepped up all the time no matter what the situation, key moments and key playoff times, he is just there,” North Allegheny coach Mike Bagnato said. “He doesn’t get shaken by the atmosphere or the situation he’s in.”
North Allegheny led Class 3A in defense this season as the team only surrendered 32 goals, but the numbers were even better when Karapandi was in the net. In his 15 starts, he was beaten just 15 times with a record of 12-3-0 and led the classification with both a 1.67 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.
For his efforts, Karapandi has been chosen the Post-Gazette Stellar Six Player of the Year.
“I think, positionally, I’m always in position for the shot and ready and I think that’s a big part of my game,” Karapandi said. “I also think I move all right, which is definitely a big thing now that the game has gotten a little faster.”
He was even better in the postseason as the Tigers senior finished the PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs 3-0 with a 0.87 GAA, stopped 103 of 106 shots (.972 save percentage) and ended the tournament with a 30 win against top-seeded Peters Township that gave the school its first title since 2013. More impressively, it was the first time the Indians failed to score in a game since North Allegheny defeated them, 20, in the 2013 Penguins Cup final, a span of 134 games.
“In the playoffs, he played dynamite in all the games,” Bagnato said. “He didn’t get rattled and he played really, really hard. He is probably more focused in games than any of the other guys that I’ve had.”
Karapandi, who was a PIHL allstar this year, had a big crease to fill. North Allegheny has had a great run of outstanding goaltenders from Brad Thornburgh, who carried the team to its previous title in 2013, to Joe Hubert and Ryan Heil before he finally took over the top spot in the 2017-18 season.
“I don’t know if I’m that much different. Last year I played with Ryan and I don’t know what sets me apart from them,” Karapandi said. “Maybe because I’ve played on varsity since I was a sophomore. I don’t know.”
Or it could be simply a matter of technique
“We’re in an era now with the butterfly [style] where the goaltenders go down a lot faster than they should and, when that happens, they open up the top half of the net. There’s a fine line there and I know the theory is to cut off the bottom half of the net,” Bagnato said. “I think he does a good job of playing the waiting game. It’s like going against a shooter where the first guy to move loses and he doesn’t just automatically fall down, so he’s more proactive than reactive to the play.”