Top Individual Performances (Week 8 MLAX)
Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it is interesting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here. | |
For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score stats to a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings. | |
We have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent? | |
A quick note: whenever you see the PRO logo (![]() ![]() |
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Top Single Game Scores of the week |
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#1 – Keegan Khan (Villanova) – 9.70 goals added
Apr 3 vs Providence Opp ELO: 1539
Villanova has cemented themselves as a top-3 team in the Big East. Their 2 losses both came against Georgetown, and they’ll have a chance to prove themselves against Denver later in the year.
Keegan Khan has been steady this year, picking up a lot of the slack left behind when Connor Kirst transferred to Rutgers. He’s been the QB of this offense, contributing 40% of the assists so far this year. In this game though, he took a turn as the finisher. It was a season high in shots and goals. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
97th
Offensive EGA
98th
Excess Goals
7th
eGoals/Shot
70th
Shooting Percentage
69th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
58th
Play Shares
97th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
7
2
13 (8)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
3
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
97th
Offensive EGA
98th
Excess Goals
7th
eGoals/Shot
70th
Shooting Percentage
69th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
58th
Play Shares
97th
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#2 – Pat Kavanagh (Notre Dame) – 7.25 goals added
Apr 3 vs Syracuse Opp ELO: 1731
Make no mistake, Pat Kavanah was the guy that made the ND offense tick in this one. 9 points came from 5 assists and a 50% shooting mark resulting in 4 goals. But he’s had a 9-point game this year that didn’t sniff the top of the rankings. He’s here this week because he added 6 ground balls to go with the scoring plays.
The possession advantage was the key in this game. It let the ND offense play more freely (and more efficiently) than they have all year. The Irish ended the day +13 on possessions. Great win for Corrigan’s bunch. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
98th
Total EGA
79th
Offensive EGA
83rd
Excess Goals
22nd
eGoals/Shot
58th
Shooting Percentage
63rd
Shot-on-Goal Rate
50th
Play Shares
98th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
4
5
8 (6)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
6
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
0
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
98th
Total EGA
79th
Offensive EGA
83rd
Excess Goals
22nd
eGoals/Shot
58th
Shooting Percentage
63rd
Shot-on-Goal Rate
50th
Play Shares
98th
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#3 – Brendan Nichtern (Army) – 7.11 goals added
Apr 3 vs Lehigh Opp ELO: 1681
On Twitter, I put out a list of the top assist share guys in the country. It showed the 10 players who generated the highest share of their team’s assists. Nichtern was the guy at the top. He’s got 52% of the Black Knights’ assists on the year. Against Lehigh, Nichtern was a bit more aggressive on the offensive end though. His 5 goals were a season-high.
Aside from the assists, Nichtern’s season has been as great as it’s been because of the strides he’s taken in his shooting. He’s taking roughly the same number of shots as last year (8.6 vs 7.9), but he’s canning them at a 42% clip this year versus just 30% last year. The assist share number gets some attention, but his assists / game are actually down this year because the Black Knights, as a team, are assisting on just 42% of their goals this year (down from 68% last year). Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
99th
Total EGA
96th
Offensive EGA
98th
Excess Goals
7th
eGoals/Shot
67th
Shooting Percentage
64th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
47th
Play Shares
99th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
5
2
11 (6)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
1
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
99th
Total EGA
96th
Offensive EGA
98th
Excess Goals
7th
eGoals/Shot
67th
Shooting Percentage
64th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
47th
Play Shares
99th
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#4 – Mike Robinson (Delaware) – 6.60 goals added
Apr 2 vs Fairfield Opp ELO: 1352
Once again, Mike Robinson went off. This time, it was 7 goals and he threw in his 5th assist of the year for good measure. The Blue Hens are undefeated with their full offense this year and the offense is scoring at a 34.6% efficiency rate, which is the highest I have for them since at least 2015.
The schedule gets a lot tougher from here on out though. 2 games left against top 20 defenses to end the year (Towson and UMass) after their next two games against Drexel and Hofstra. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
99th
Total EGA
84th
Offensive EGA
87th
Excess Goals
18th
eGoals/Shot
73rd
Shooting Percentage
78th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
60th
Play Shares
99th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
7
1
14 (10)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
4
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
99th
Total EGA
84th
Offensive EGA
87th
Excess Goals
18th
eGoals/Shot
73rd
Shooting Percentage
78th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
60th
Play Shares
99th
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#5 – Jared Bernhardt (Maryland) – 6.53 goals added
Apr 3 vs Penn State Opp ELO: 1707
Congrats to Jared Bernhardt on setting the Maryland career scoring record. It was kind of wild to see how little fanfare the game against PSU generated; the past two or three years, this would have been appointment viewing.
For Bernhardt, this was the most efficient offensive game he’s had all year. His 5 goals came on just 8 shots, and he made up for the (relative) lack of shot opportunities by adding 3 assists. When teams have limited his chances, he just passed it to teammates who’ve finished the job. His 2.1 assists/gm average is a career high. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
99th
Offensive EGA
99th
Excess Goals
10th
eGoals/Shot
82nd
Shooting Percentage
83rd
Shot-on-Goal Rate
78th
Play Shares
96th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
5
3
8 (8)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
1
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
99th
Offensive EGA
99th
Excess Goals
10th
eGoals/Shot
82nd
Shooting Percentage
83rd
Shot-on-Goal Rate
78th
Play Shares
96th
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#6 – Mike Sisselberger (Lehigh) – 6.35 goals added
Apr 3 vs Army Opp ELO: 1714
Sisselberger has quietly ascending to the ranks of the elite FOGOs over 5 games this year. He’s currently 2nd in the faceoff Elo ratings, behind only TD Ierlan. His 77.6% win rate is 2nd as well. Only 4 players have beaten their expectations more this year than Sisselberger.
But aside from the individual accolades, his impact on the Mountain Hawks success this year is significant. Lehigh has been a plus possession team ever since Gaffney came on campus, but this year, they are taking it to a whole different level. They are currently averaging 10.2 possessions more than their opponents this year, which is best in the nation. Combine that with an offense that is currently 6th in the opponent-adjusted efficiency rankings and a defense that is a respectable 23rd, and honestly, what are you supposed to do? Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
98th
Total EGA
83rd
Faceoff EGA
88th
Excess Goals
26th
Shooting Percentage
55th
Faceoff Win%
93rd
Faceoff Elo
99th
Play Shares
96th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
1 (1)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
14
23
85%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
3
0
0
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
98th
Total EGA
83rd
Faceoff EGA
88th
Excess Goals
26th
Shooting Percentage
55th
Faceoff Win%
93rd
Faceoff Elo
99th
Play Shares
96th
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#7 – Petey LaSalla (Virginia) – 6.35 goals added
Apr 3 vs Richmond Opp ELO: 1668
Coming into this game, Richmond’s possession advantage on the year was +40. In this single game, it was -15. LaSalla didn’t have his best day in terms of win rate, but it was impressive because of the opponent.
Still, given the 12 GBs and the assist he threw in, it did end up as one of the top-10 EGA games of the week. The fact that he was able to win so many possessions to himself was part of the reason that this was the fastest pace we’ve seen Virginia play at this year. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
97th
Total EGA
96th
Faceoff EGA
96th
Excess Goals
13th
Shooting Percentage
70th
Faceoff Win%
89th
Faceoff Elo
99th
Play Shares
95th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
1
4 (4)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
12
19
70%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
1
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
97th
Total EGA
96th
Faceoff EGA
96th
Excess Goals
13th
Shooting Percentage
70th
Faceoff Win%
89th
Faceoff Elo
99th
Play Shares
95th
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#8 – Ryan Smith (Robert Morris) – 6.34 goals added
Apr 3 vs Jacksonville Opp ELO: 1497
The addition of Jimmy Perkins to the RMU roster has meant that Ryan Smith hasn’t had to always be “the guy” like he was last year. His weighted play share (i.e. his usage) is down from 16.3% last year to 12.7% this year. So while he’s had fewer opportunities, he’s made much more of them this season.
Shooting percentage: up 17 percentage points Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
93rd
Total EGA
99th
Offensive EGA
99th
Excess Goals
2nd
eGoals/Shot
71st
Shooting Percentage
69th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
57th
Play Shares
91st
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
6
1
13 (10)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
0
0
N/A
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
0
0
0
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
93rd
Total EGA
99th
Offensive EGA
99th
Excess Goals
2nd
eGoals/Shot
71st
Shooting Percentage
69th
Shot-on-Goal Rate
57th
Play Shares
91st
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#9 – Austin Deskewicz (Stony Brook) – 6.15 goals added
Apr 3 vs Hartford Opp ELO: 1284
19 faceoff wins was a season high for Deskewicz. He’s worked himself into the top-20 of the faceoff Elo ratings with a 62.9% win rate this year.
It’s gotta feel good for him to come back after a dreadful 2020 campaign that saw him win just 48.5% of his draws. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
91st
Total EGA
84th
Faceoff EGA
89th
Excess Goals
27th
Shooting Percentage
37th
Faceoff Win%
90th
Faceoff Elo
98th
Play Shares
76th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
0
0
0 (0)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
14
19
76%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
0
0
1
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
91st
Total EGA
84th
Faceoff EGA
89th
Excess Goals
27th
Shooting Percentage
37th
Faceoff Win%
90th
Faceoff Elo
98th
Play Shares
76th
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#10 – Nathan Kapp (Jacksonville) – 5.92 goals added
Apr 3 vs Robert Morris Opp ELO: 1502
Last slot goes to another FOGO, as Nathan Kapp continued his strong season with another 20+ faceoff win day, a goal and an assist.
Kapp’s win rate (58.7%) is up a full 17.8 percentage points since last year, which is the 9th highest improvement of any qualifying FOGO. And he’s raised his fElo rating 132 points this year and he currently sits in 28th with a rating of 1645. Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
84th
Faceoff EGA
90th
Excess Goals
50th
Shooting Percentage
79th
Faceoff Win%
84th
Faceoff Elo
97th
Play Shares
96th
Box Score Stats
Goals
Assists
Shots (OG)
1
1
1 (1)
GBs
FO Won
FO Pct
9
21
65%
Turnovers
Penalties
Caused TO
2
2
0
Career Stat
Percentile
EGA/game
96th
Total EGA
84th
Faceoff EGA
90th
Excess Goals
50th
Shooting Percentage
79th
Faceoff Win%
84th
Faceoff Elo
97th
Play Shares
96th
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