The Darien netminder made a number of critical saves in this game, keeping the Blue Wave within striking distance for most of the day. His most impressive stop came in the third quarter when a Friars player got a pass on the righty pipe in transition, leading to a dunk opportunity. The shot went to Hagen’s left shoulder, and he was able to punch his top hand across fast enough to stop the shot clean, catching it and offering no rebound. Darien quickly attacked the other way with a transition opportunity of their own, started by Hagen. Hagen has always had a knack for playing angles well and moving on his arc to use his big frame to hide a ton of the net behind him. The top-hand speed shown on this particular save was a testament to the rest of his goalie skill set.

Again, with a possession disadvantage, Darien needed to get strong goalie play. Hagen delivered. He’s excellent at positioning in net and using his big body to cut down angles for shooters. On multiple occasions during the game, Hagen was able to go back to front, meaning track a pass from behind the goal to a shooter above it, position, and make the save on a shot that changed levels. It’s a very challenging sequence for a goalie to execute well, particularly against shooters of the caliber that Brunswick has, and Hagen made multiple saves this way. He was also good in tight, again using his frame to close down space and smother shots that came from in tight. Brunswick scored 12, but none of them felt easy.