NLL Insider

Off to a 3-0 start as the undisputed number one goaltender of the Minnesota Swarm, Nick Patterson has plenty to brag about. But Nick Patterson doesn’t really do that. Instead, the former all-pro discusses goalie fights, being underrated, and a save he made in Calgary.

In most team sports, goalies are kind of considered to be the weirdest guys out there. Does that hold true for lacrosse goalies?
I’ve met some weird goalies before in hockey and lacrosse, so yeah lacrosse goalies can definitely be weird. A lot of people think we’re weird just because we stand in front of the ball. I think that’s why a lot of people think we’re a different breed.

What are some of your quirks?
I have a few superstitions here and there. The main one is that after I get my gear on for warm-up and stuff I stay out of the dressing room until the end of the game. That’s probably the big one. I just wait in the hallway or by the bench or whatever. Maybe sometimes I’ll wear the same clothes under my gear each week.

You guys are 3-0 to start the season. Is the team is finally starting to get the respect or the credit you deserve in the eastern division?
I think so, but I think to a lot of teams we’re still kind of underrated and they tend to overlook us a bit, but it kind of works to our advantage to fly under the radar. I think our team is definitely starting to come together.

Do you feel like there’s a big difference in the way the team is playing compared to years past?
Well we have a lot of new players this year and it seems that just right from the start everyone’s just playing really well together and clicking. We are definitely a pretty close team too so that helps.

A lot of scorers can name a few of their favourite goals that they’ve scored. As a goaltender do you have any least favourite goals you’ve allowed?
You know, there are none that are really sticking out in my mind right now.

That’s probably a good thing.
Yeah I try not to dwell on it.

How about a most memorable save?
I’d have to say in my first NLL start in Calgary, I can’t remember who was shooting but we were shorthanded and there was a pass from the left shooter down to the right crease player and he tried to quick-stick it in and I had a wide open net and made the stick save. That’s probably one of my most memorable just because it was my first game and we ended up winning.

Have you ever been in a goalie fight?
I’ve been in a couple in junior, but not since then.

How does a goalie fight end up happening? Is there some secret communication going on or does one guy just start making that run across the floor?
The first one was when I got kinda cheap-shotted and one of my players jumped in and I was just watching and I looked up and the other goalie was running down. I don’t know why. He just came running down. The other one we had a full bench-clearing brawl so I ended up fighting the other goalie.

It was kind of a rough summer season for the Victoria Shamrocks. Is it easy for you to shake that off and leave it behind when it comes time to play NLL?
It seems like it was this year. We had a few months off before the season started so it was good just to reset and take a bit of time off and get refocused. I came in with the attitude that I was really excited to get back playing and excited to start new again, so it’s been pretty good this year.

Is it good to finally be the undisputed number one goaltender on the Swarm?
It definitely helps a lot because you always know you’re playing so it gives you a different attitude mentally, but also when there’s two goalies you may play a game and then have a week break and then he gets a start and you end up going two or three weeks without a start. That definitely hurts you. In junior and my first year in senior I played pretty much every game so that’s what I got used to and I like it a lot more. Obviously, I guess. Everyone likes playing.

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