Taylor Gauthier was selected on Monday as goaltender of the week in the Western Hockey League. The 17-year-old stopper for the Prince George Cougars was recognized for his stellar play for the week ending Jan. 13.
The WHL award had Gauthier in the running for the Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the week honour but that nod went Tuesday to Kevin Mandolese of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
In four games in the designated time period, Gauthier posted a 3-1-0-0 record (two of the wins by shutout) with a 1.26 goals-against-average. He stopped 97 of 102 shots for a .951 save percentage.
Gauthier started his week with a 1-0 blanking of the host Tri-City Americans, a Jan. 8 game in which he stopped 36 shots. He was named first star of the contest and first star of the night in the WHL for his efforts.
After turning aside 23 of 26 shots in a 4-2 road loss to the Spokane Chiefs the next night, Gauthier returned home with the Cougars for a pair of weekend games against the Kelowna Rockets. In the first game, played Friday night, he stopped 18 of 20 shots in a 7-2 victory. In the second half of the doubleheader, Gauthier recorded a 20-save shutout in a 4-0 win against Kelowna.
Gauthier, from Calgary, is in his second season with the Cougars. So far in 2018-19, he sports a 12-15-1-1 record with a 2.94 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage and three shutouts.
The Cougars chose Gauthier in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2016 WHL bantam draft. He is listed by NHL Central Scouting as a 'B' prospect for the 2019 draft.
