Give goalie an obstacle, then ... fuhgeddaboudit

Bobby Goepfert lived his early years in the Ozone Park area of Queens. "There was the couple that owned the pizzeria around the corner," he said. "You went in there, they were always screaming and throwing the flour at each other. Every stereotype of an old Italian neighborhood ... we had it."

Bobby's father Steve is German-Irish. His mother Jo Ann was a Trucchio.

"We lived upstairs, my grandparents lived in the middle, my aunt lived downstairs, and my other aunt lived around the corner," Goepfert said. "Then, one of my aunts moved to Kings Park on Long Island, and a couple of years later, we were all living out there ... a Trucchio enclave."

Goepfert discovered youth hockey and became a goaltender.

He played in a national tournament for New York state's 17-and-under selects. He wound up with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the USHL.

"It was a culture shock," he said. "I was sick of corn after a week.

"There was another Italian kid from New York, Chris Pedota, on the team. We walked into a convenience store and the guy behind the counter said, 'How are you doing today, sir?'

"I turned to Pedota and said, 'What's this guy's problem? What business is it of his, how I'm doing?'

"And Chris is saying, 'No, no. He's trying to be nice. This is how people act in Iowa.' "

Goepfert stayed two years in Cedar Rapids. He was the USHL's most valuable player in 2002. He signed to play college hockey for Providence and was a standout for two seasons.

"I also was in my rebel period," Goepfert said. "The coach, Paul Pooley, kept trying to straighten me out. I kept rebelling -- skipping classes, study sessions.

"Before you knew it, it was May, finals were over, and I still had a paper to get done. I worked on it all night, e-mailed it to the professor in the morning, and drove home to New York."

He soon was notified the professor was accusing him of plagiarism. "He said, 'There was no bibliography, and some of these statements were taken directly from other sources,' " Goepfert said. "My comment was, 'If you wanted a bibliography, you should've asked for it.' "

The next comment he heard from Providence came from Pooley. "He told me, 'Last straw. You're done,' " Goepfert said.

He had an outstanding reputation as a goaltender. He was in contact with various schools, including the University of Minnesota.

"The 'F' the professor gave me for that plagiarism charge lowered my grade point to 1.98," Goepfert said. "Bob Motzko was the assistant coach who told me Minnesota wasn't going to get me in school with that grade point."

He was admitted to St. Cloud State for a transfer season in 2004-05. Motzko replaced Craig Dahl as the Huskies' coach in August.

The Huskies were the WCHA's surprise team of 2005-06, They finished 22-16-4, including 2-1 against the Gophers.

Motzko was named the league's coach of the year as a rookie. Goepfert was the Huskies' MVP and the goalie on the all-WCHA team.

This didn't make every moment smooth. There was the Christmas party hosted by Goepfert and his girlfriend, Angie Spinella from Providence.

"I don't want to brag, but I can cut a rug," he said. "I was showing my dance moves. I did the splits and pulled a groin muscle.

"I could barely move. I had to tell the coach. He said, 'How did you get hurt?' It caught me by surprise. I couldn't think of another explanation, so I said, 'Dancin'.' He muttered something about goalies and walked away."

Goepfert was off to a so-so start this season. He rediscovered his A game in a 3-3 tie with the Gophers on Nov. 11 that was part of a two-tie weekend. The Huskies took a six-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten streak into Friday night's home game with Colgate.

Freshman Jase Weslosky was the starting goalie for the third time in 15 games. "I would guess I'm playing the second game [tonight]," Goepfert said. "I don't think I'm in trouble for anything. I've been on my good behavior.

"Not much dancin'."