July 17, 2012 11:07 AM
The Checkers made a move to solidify their goaltending on Tuesday, signing 24-year-old Rob Madore to a two-way AHL contract.
At the time of his signing, Madore, an undrafted four-year starter at the University of Vermont who finished his collegiate career last season, ranked as the fourth goalie on the organizational depth chart, making him a potential backup to fellow Hockey East alumnus John Muse with the Checkers. That could change if the team or its parent club, the Carolina Hurricanes, chooses to bring in another player, as Madore enters next season without experience at the AHL level.
The 5-foot-10, 179-pound Madore did make his professional debut in the ECHL at the end of last season, playing 12 regular-season games with the Chicago Express and five more in the postseason with the South Carolina Stingrays. The Pittsburgh native was a combined 10-6-1 in those contests with a 2.53 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and one shutout.
The highlight of Madore’s brief pro career to this date may have been his first two playoff games, which he won in the fourth and second overtime, respectively. He made 54 saves in his South Carolina debut, a 4-3 win over Gwinnett in the first round, before stopping 39 shots in a rematch two days later.
While with Vermont, Madore posted a record of 41-64-20 with a 2.91 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and five shutouts. He was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on six separate occasions, including three times during his freshman season in 2008-09. He finished his collegiate career among the school’s all-time leaders in several statistical categories, trailing only NHL All-Star Tim Thomas with 3,352 saves.
Madore played two seasons of junior hockey with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he was teammates with Checkers center Sean Dolan in 2006-07. |
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