Earlier today, the ECHL and Cincinnati Cyclones announced that goaltender Pavel Cajan has been named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week. He truly earned that title last week, winning both of his starts and going 2-0-0. On MLK Day, he put in a strong performance against the Toledo Walleye, saving 23 of 24 shots in a tightly contested 2-1 win. Later in the week, he faced off against the Iowa Heartlanders and notched another victory, stopping 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 game. Thanks to his efforts, the Cyclones are climbing back into the playoff race, now sitting just four points out of a playoff spot behind the Indy Fuel and Bloomington Bison.
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Cajan did not start in the game against the Bloomington Bison on Saturday, which snapped his streak of eight consecutive starts. Jon Gillies returned to the net for the first time since December 29th, but unfortunately, the Cyclones ended up on the wrong side of a 3-0 loss, getting shut out by Yaniv Perets, who put in a 29-save performance.
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Currently in his third professional season, Cajan has played in 19 games this year with the Cyclones. His record stands at 9-8-2-0, with a solid .910 save percentage and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.11, which ranks him third in the ECHL in GAA. He has also performed well in the AHL, boasting a record of 2-0-0 and a GAA of 1.50 for the Cleveland Monsters earlier this season. He has a 7-1-1 record through nine starts this month (one more likely coming Wednesday vs Greenville), with his only losses coming against the Atlanta Gladiators and in overtime against the Indy Fuel.
After Vyacheslav Peksa was called up due to an injury to Marlies’ goaltender, Artur Akhtyamov, earlier this month, Cajan stepped up as the number one goalie. Now that Jon Gillies is back from the IR, it might make sense to keep Cajan in the starting role for a bit longer, not playing Gillies too often. Once Peksa returns, a tandem approach might be the way to go, although we still don’t know exactly when he’ll be back down from Toronto.
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