By Kenton Wolfe | December 5th 2017

In St. Catharines, he’s affectionately known among fans as “The Savour.”

Troy, New York is about to learn exactly why.

Owen Savory, 20, has not only been the starting goaltender for the St. Catharines Falcons since 2016, but what his coaches have called “the backbone of the team.”

That’s because Savory brings something much more to his team than just the best goaltending statistics in the GOJHL. He brings intensity, commitment and character.

On the morning of December 4th it was made official – Savory would bring that same character to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers for the 2018-19 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I NCAA season.

The RPI Engineers, playing out of the Houston Field House in Troy, contacted Savory in October. This was not the first time that he had been in contact with the school, however.

“It was kind of a unique situation,” said Savory. “(The contact between us) dated back through the years of attending training camps, and even teams before St. Catharines. My main contact was the assistant coach Dan Jewell who I first met a year ago at a USHL training camp.”

Jewell knew from that first USHL camp that Savory was something special. He closely tracked Savory’s progress and kept tabs by reaching out to Falcons Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald.

Even Fitzgerald himself can see the passion in Savory. After losing in the GOJHL Golden Horseshoe Conference Final in each of the last four seasons, the Falcons decided to take a different approach to the 2017-18 season. Though it’s the final junior season for Savory, they’ve surrounded him with the youngest team the club has had this decade.

“Owen is a very competitive person who pushes himself in practice like few players I’ve seen,” said Fitzgerald. “He’s been a terrific role model for our younger players.”

Realizing his dream of an NCAA commitment wasn’t easy for the goaltender. Savory was not selected by a Major Junior franchise in his midget-year for the OHL Priority Selection Draft.

“The Division 1 level was always where I set my ultimate goal at,” said Savory. “Coming out of Minor Midget I was a small goalie and still am but wanted to prove to everyone that I needed to mature and become a better goaltender in order to achieve my goal.”

And though Savory achieved that goal, he remained humble about his success. Savory joined the Falcons after two season with another GOJHL team, the Cambridge Winter Hawks.

“We had heard that Owen could become available out of Cambridge,” said Frank Girhiny, General Manager of the Falcons. “I made contact with their management and they allowed me to talk to Owen. We discussed his goals and what Falcon-hockey is all about.

Owen has shown leadership qualities from day 1. He truly is our leader. He has set the bar for all our players. He's truly a Pro.”

Savory holds his time with St. Catharines in high regard. He currently serves as one of the alternate captains for the club, despite GOJHL rules stipulating he cannot wear a captaincy letter on his jersey.

“Something that I have definitely learned being a Falcon is that to make the next level, you need to show up ready to work every single day,” said Savory. “More importantly, being a Falcon over the past few years has allowed me to become a better person. With so many amazing people in the organization, it allowed me to mature and develop into a better goaltender but also a better person in the community.”

Even though Savory feels relieved he has important hockey to play after his Junior B career, his focus hasn’t changed.

“Now being an over-ager, my ultimate goal is to win my last junior hockey game,” said Savory. “So that means winning a championship and I feel we have the right group to achieve that which is why I’m excited to see how much we can achieve.”