The Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) will be represented by two goalies from Central New York this coming season.

Former Hamilton College goalie Sam Walther, from Gambrills, Maryland, recently signed with the pro team based in Stamford, Connecticut, and will join former Utica College goalie Keira Goin on the Whale, whose season opens October 7. That means, no matter what, someone with a Central New York connection will be stopping pucks for the NWHL team this season.

Walther, a 2018 graduate of Hamilton, was this past season's NESCAC Player of the Year and was a two-time First Team All-American for the Continentals. She's the college's record holder for career save percentage, shutouts, and goals against average--pretty much the clean sweep for goaltender statistics.

She also owns the program's single season marks in those same categories.

Goin, from Dobbs Ferry, New York, holds various Utica College records and will enter her second pro season this fall with the Whale alongside Walther in between the pipes. That makes two great reasons for Mohawk Valley hockey fans to cheer for the Whale this year.

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