NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS — January 15 marks Goalie Appreciation Night at the Shoebox, celebrating the tough, often quirky, position that guards the area between the pipes on the ice. To honor the tendies that have come before our current roster’s goalies, Rico DiMatteo and Graham Burke, we’ve put together four alumni profiles on some of Brahmaland’s most prolific guardians of the crease. Continue reading to catch up with Jake Kupsky, Max Prawdzik, Mitchell Gibson and Harrison Feeney.
Jake Kupsky
Kupsky came to play for the Lone Star Brahmas in 2014 on an “unpaid internship” to earn a scholarship to play in college. While with the Brahmas, Kupsky finished 25-7-4, a 2.07 goals against average, a .909 save percentage, and two shutouts. These stats caught the eye of many and even the NHL itself, as he was the first Lone Star Brahmas player ever drafted into the Natoinal Hockey Leage. In 2015, Kupsky was drafted in the seventh round and 193rd overall by the San Jose Sharks during the NHL Entry Draft.
The Waukesha, Wisco. native then continued his hockey career at Union College after spending a season at NYTEX Sports Centre. While at Union from 2015-2019, he achieved many accolades including the Mike Richter Award Watch List selection, All-ECAC Hockey Third Team, ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month, ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week and ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team. Kudsky finished at UC with a 23-22-5 record spanning over 59 games, a GAA of 2.86 and a .900 save percentage.
Kupsky then moved to professional hockey in the East Coast Hockey League playing for the Greenville SwampRabbits, Idaho Steelheads, and most recently, the South Carolina Stingrays.
Max Prawdzik
Prawdzik was a part of the team that led the Brahmas to the Robertson Cup championship in 2017. The regular season he put up a 2.14 GAA and a .908 save percentage. In the playoffs, he was able to stop every shot that came his way–17 in total, including 1.56 GAA and a save percentage of .924.
Prawdzik then went to Boston University attain his degree in finance and play Division I hockey. While at Boston, he earned a multitude of awards including Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week, GoTerriers.com Student-Athlete of the Week and Hockey East All-Academic Team. The tendy then transitioned to playing at Arizona State University, graduating in 2020.
Mitchell Gibson
Gibson played for the Brahmas for a year before being selected in the fourth round of the NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals. During his time with the Brahmas, Gibson finished the season 26-7-4 with 11 shutouts, GAA of 1.59 and a 9.35 save percentage. He was also awarded several league and divison awards including the NAHL Goaltender of the Year, NAHL Rookie of the Year, NAHL All-South Division Team, NAHL All-South Division Rookie Team, NAHL All- NAHL Team and NAHL South MVP.
The goalie then continued playing hockey at Harvard University, where he currently is a sophomore. He finished his rookie season with a 11-8-3 record, a GAA of 2.61, and a .961 save percentage. He also became the second Harvard goalie to record a shutout in his debut.
Harrison Feeney
Feeney suited up for the Lone Star Brahmas for 1.5 seasons from 2017-2019. During his time with the Brahmas, Feeney played 48 games with a record of 23-13-7, five shutouts, over 1,000 saves, a GAA of 1.73 and a 9.29 save percentage.
The Lafayette Hill, Pa. native is currently skating for the University of North Dakota. Feeney saw his collegiate hockey debut on Dec. 20, 2020 against Miami University of Ohio.
Written by: Erica Stutheit