More to Boucher than just goaltending

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Judging from just what you can see, Nick Boucher is an outstanding goaltender.

He's tops in the CHL in goals against average (2.28), second in the league in save percentage (.922) while playing in the most games in the CHL for a goaltender (25).

But what you can't see is just how smart Boucher is.

His Dartmouth degree speaks for itself.  Boucher is a double-major (sociology and psychology) from the Ivy League school.

Boucher still owns school records at Dartmouth for saves in a single season (867), career saves (2,803) and career wins (50).

While others were studying things like economics, Boucher wasn't into math.  He was more interested in learning about how the mind works and the responses and behaviors of other people.

Boucher uses that knowledge in his game.

He picks up on patterns either by himself or others and can make adjustments when necessary.  Maybe one of the best traits for Boucher is his ability to have a short-term memory when things go wrong like getting a goal scored on him or having a bad game.

In his fifth year with the Komets, Boucher is off to a great start.  He's 18-5-1 on the cusp of his first-ever CHL All-Star appearance.   Boucher just earned CHL Goaltender of the Month honors for December.

The Komets are in first place in the Turner Conference thanks in part to Boucher's success in net.