Sam Walther

Samantha "Sam" Walther (born July 16, 1996) is an American ice hockey goaltender. She played in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with the Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale.

Sam Walther
Sam Walther at the 2020 NWHL All Star Game
Born (1996-07-16) July 16, 1996
Gambrills, Maryland, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
Played for Metropolitan Riveters
Connecticut Whale
Hamilton Continentals
Playing career 2014–present

Playing career

Walther attended The Gunnery, a private college-preparatory school in Washington, Connecticut, for secondary school. She spent four seasons with the school's women's ice hockey team in addition to playing football and lacrosse.[1]

During her first three years attending The Gunnery, Walther simultaneously played with the Pittsburgh-based Pittsburgh Penguins Elite of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. In her senior year of high school, she also played with the Connecticut Polar Bears of the USA Hockey Girls Tier I 19U.[2]

Collegiate

Walther played her collegiate career with the Hamilton College in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) of the NCAA Division III. Her senior year, she was ranked second in her division with a save percentage of .960. Walther finished her hockey career at Hamilton College holding the program's records for best goals against average (1.40), highest save percentage (.948), and most shutouts (26).[3] In 2018, she was awarded the Jack B. Riffle Award for the top female athlete in the senior class at Hamilton.[4] Her senior year performance also earned her the title of 2018 NESCAC Player of the Year.[5] Following her graduation, she became the first Hamilton graduate to sign with a professional women's hockey team.[6]

During her time at Hamilton College, Walther suffered a torn MCL during a NESCAC quarterfinals game that ended in quadruple overtime.[6] Walther made 80 saves, a career high.[4]

NWHL

On July 10, 2018, Walther signed a professional contract with the Connecticut Whale.[4] Following goaltender Mariya Sorokina's departure from the team, Walther became the backup to Whale goaltender Meeri Räisänen.[7] However, Walther only dressed for five games for the Whale and appeared once, not even playing a full period.[8][9]

In the 2019–20 season, Walther signed a contract with the Metropolitan Riveters.[2] In her first starting goaltender role in the NWHL, Walther played 22 of 24 regular season games.[10] She played in her first NWHL playoff game, making 30 saves on 31 shots in a tight overtime loss to the defending champions, the Minnesota Whitecaps.[11] During the season, Walther sustained a hip injury after a collision with Whale defender Kaycie Anderson and missed two games.[12] She was named as one of the goaltenders for Team Packer in the 2020 NWHL All-Star Game.[13] Walther finished the season with a .892 save percentage and 3.74 goals against average.[14]

In June 2020, Riveters' coach Ivo Mocek confirmed that Walther would not be returning to the team for the 2020–21 NWHL season.[15] Walther later confirmed that she will not play in the 2021 season.[16]

Personal life

Walther served as an assistant coach with the Nichols Bison women's ice hockey program during the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons. During her time at Hamilton College, Walther earned her undergraduate degree in government. In addition to coaching at Nichols, Walther is also getting her graduate degree in Counterterrorism.[9][17] She speaks Arabic, American Sign Language (ASL), and French.[18]

She has named Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby as one of her role models, wearing number 70 because of him. Growing up, Walther was also a neighbour of Ken Klee in Annapolis.[19]

Since 2018, Walther's been an ambassador for The Goalie Guild's Lift the Mask initiative to encourages mental health awareness among ice hockey goaltenders.[20] Walther has also discussed struggling with depression.[18]

References
  1. "Sam Walther: A Netminder's Tale". Cetacean Nation (Interview). 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  2. "Player Profile: Sam Walther". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  3. Birnell, Ben (August 9, 2019). "Former Hamilton College goalies Buitenhuis, Walther join pro teams". Observer-Dispatch. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  4. "Women's Ice Hockey – 2017-18 Player Bios: Sam Walther". Hamilton Athletics. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  5. Davidson, Spencer (July 12, 2018). "Hamilton College alum signs with NWHL's Connecticut Whale". WKTV News. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  6. Silber, Jen (September 10, 2018). "Sam Walther wants to raise her game in the NWHL". The Ice Garden. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  7. Ayala, Erica L. (January 2, 2019). "NWHL: Mariya Sorokina acquired by Riveters ahead of weekend game against Whale". Sports Talk with ELA. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  8. Rice, Dan (August 29, 2019). "NWHL: Whitecaps Re-Sign Pezon, Riveters & Whale Sign Goaltenders". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. Rice, Dan (December 6, 2019). "Sam Walther's Long Road Back to the NWHL". NWHL.zone. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  10. Murphy, Mike (October 4, 2019). "Women's hockey 2019-20: Can NWHL's Boston Pride return to Isobel Cup Final?". Sporting News. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  11. "Riveters at Whitecaps - Boxscore". Metropolitan Riveters. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  12. Strollo, Leighann (January 28, 2020). "Metropolitan Riveters and Whale Split Series Before NWHL All-Star Game". Devils Army Blog. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  13. Strollo, Leighann (February 7, 2020). "2020 NWHL All-Star Weekend Preview". The Ice Garden. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  14. "2019-20 Goalie Leaders, Playoffs". nwhl.zone. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  15. Rice, Dan (June 15, 2020). "Getting to know Riveters head coach Ivo Mocek". The Ice Garden. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  16. Rice, Dan (July 16, 2020). "Just to follow up on this - exchanged messages with Sam recently..." Twitter. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  17. "Sam Walther; IWL's New Program Coordinator". Nichols College Institute for Women's Leadership. October 5, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  18. Oliver, Nathaniel (January 28, 2019). "Former Whale Goalie Walther Talks Coaching, Growth & 'Lift the Mask'". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  19. Weiswerda, Brennin (September 21, 2018). "NWHL goalie Sam Walther bought Braden Holtby's shirt. Now she's challenging him on Twitter to return the favor". Russian Machine Never Breaks. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  20. "Ambassadors | Lift The Mask | United States". Lift The Mask. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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