Dalton could be a keeper...

Here is a nice story on former BSU Goalie Matt Dalton. It will be interesting to see where he ends up playing this season.

WILMINGTON - Most of the interest that NCAA teams showed in Matt Dalton disappeared when the goalie’s self-admitted “academic issues’’ came to light.

“Being from Canada, my high school classes weren’t going to work,’’ said the Clinton, Ontario, native. “I didn’t find that out until my second-to-last year of juniors. So I had to do a full year of university while I was in juniors just to get eligible for NCAAs. That scared a lot of schools off. I was talking to a lot of schools at the time. Once all the academic issues came out, it was like they all quit talking.’’

As Dalton prepares for his first year as a pro goalie, it appears he’s getting the last laugh on the spooked schools.

Dalton has been one of three goalies at Ristuccia Arena this week for development camp (Adam Courchaine and Michael Hutchinson are the others). The 23-year-old is in the Boston fold for the next two seasons, aiming to become the latest unorthodox netminder to make it in Black-and-Gold. Like Tim Thomas, Dalton isn’t committed to following the butterfly style that has become the norm.

“A modified butterfly goalie, maybe?’’ Dalton said. “I don’t think I’m a true butterfly goalie like a lot of the French-Canadian goalies. But I do butterfly quite a bit.’’

The 6-foot-1-inch, 194-pound Dalton considers himself more of a track-and-react goalie. This week, Dalton has put his style to the test against the prospects’ shots. Dalton holds his glove up and out (Courchaine and Hutchinson keep their catchers closer to their bodies) and tries to make himself as big as possible.

“I think I play my best when I’m tracking the puck well and reacting,’’ Dalton said. “More reacting than dropping down into a butterfly. It’s different with every person. It’s something that I found works well for me.’’