MANNING UP: Colton Phinney makes a save this past winter during his senior season with the Princeton University men’s hockey team. Phinney ended his career as the all-time leader in saves at Princeton with 3,696 – the most by an active goalie in the NCAA, the third-most saves by a goalie in ECAC Hockey history, and the eighth in NCAA history. He recently signed with the Manitoba Moose, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, and will be starting his pro career this fall. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Over the last two years of his Princeton University men’s hockey career, star goalie Colton Phinney gained a special mentor.

Phinney connected with Mike Condon ’13, his predecessor as the starter between the pipes at Princeton who went on to the pro ranks and has established himself as a NHL goalie, having recently re-signed with Ottawa after previous stops at Montreal and Pittsburgh.

“We have become pretty good friends over the last couple of years and he has helped me along the way,” said Phinney, describing his relationship with Condon. “He has been super helpful.”

Now, Phinney is looking to follow in Condon’s footsteps having signed with Manitoba Moose, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets.

“I am definitely really excited, I need to work really hard this summer obviously to get a lot better because it is going to be a big jump,” said Phinney, a 6’1, 175-pound native of Chatham, who heads to training camp next month with the regular season starting in early October.

“I feel like a lot of college guys have made the jump and some guys have made the jump right to the NHL. It is definitely possible. You have to work very hard and make sure you don’t take it for granted. It is a great opportunity.”

The heroics of Phinney in goal helped Princeton make a major jump in his senior campaign as the Tigers went 15-16-3 and advanced to the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals after going a combined 15-72-6 in the previous three seasons.

“In December, we went on that big streak where we beat Quinnipiac and we beat Bemidji State and that made us realize we can compete,” said Phinney, who posted a 3.06 goals against average and a save percentage of .908 in his senior campaign.

“I think that everyone was going through it as a group. Everyone matured and from there on we had a lot of confidence as a team and we did pretty well.”

That confidence was displayed in a riveting ECACH best-of-three opening round playoff series against visiting Colgate which saw the Tigers bounce back from losing the opener and trailing 3-2 with seconds left in regulation in game two to eventually prevail as it won the second game 4-3 in overtime and then won the final game 2-1.

“If we didn’t win that playoff series it is, eh, this is the same as the last few years being out in the first round,” noted Phinney.

“The fact that we were able to get that win in a first couple of years was big. We lost to Union in a pretty good series after that.”

For Phinney and his classmates, helping the Tiger program take a big step forward in their final season meant a lot.

“It is definitely awesome looking back on it,” said Phinney, who recovered from shoulder surgery last summer to enjoy a big senior year graduating as the all-time leader in saves at Princeton with 3,696 and the third best save percentage in program history at .912, playing in 110 games.

“We had a tough three years, to end with our best year and a pretty good year, we have given the program something to lead off from. It is really nice.”

Earlier this summer, Phinney had a nice experience as he took part in the Winnipeg Jets development camp from June 26-30.

“This year was different; I wanted to learn as much as I could about the organization, there was a lot more pressure,” said Phinney, noting that he attended the New Jersey Devils Development Camp in 2015.

“It was a pretty awesome week experience-wise; the goalie coaches were really, really helpful. I got to see what they wanted to add to my game when I come back. I feel like I got to see our training and workouts, a lot of stuff like that.”

As he makes his final push before heading to training camp, Phinney is working out with Condon at Merrimack College in the Boston area under the tutelage of famed goaltending coach Brian Daccord.

“It has been really helpful training next to Mike and watching him,” said Phinney.

“He is pretty unbelievable, just skating with him. I skated with him two years ago and now last week and just how much better he has gotten is amazing. He is so good.”

Looking ahead to his pro debut, Condon is aiming to make similar progress as his mentor.

“I want to play as much as I can and move up to the next level in the next few years,” said Phinney. “I want to play well and show that I belong.”