Paul David Allen Fricker is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who was an All-American for Michigan.
Career While born in Toronto, Fricker played his junior hockey in British Columbia, reaching the WHL for 1 game 1979. Because it was just a single game, Fricker was able to retain his college eligibility by not receiving payment for his services. That fall he began attending Michigan in the final recruiting class for Dan Farrell. Fricker played 35 games and helped the team recover from a dismal season the year before by winning 20 games and lifting the Wolverines up to 4th in the conference. Though the team was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, Fricker had made enough of a name for himself to be drafted by the Hartford Whalers.
Entering his second season, Fricker got a new head coach in Wilf Martin, however, the bench boss lasted just 4 games due to ill health and was replaced by John Giordano. The change didn't seem to bother Fricker as he posted very similar marks to what he had the year before and was named an All-American. This time he was able to help the Wolverines win their first round matchup but were helpless against Michigan Tech in the second round and lost 2–9 on aggregate. After the season Fricker passed on his final two years of eligibility and signed a professional contract with the Whalers.
He began the next season in Hartford's minor league system, playing the bulk of the year with the Oklahoma City Stars before transitioning to the AHL in 1982. Fricker showed promise in his first full season with Binghamton, splitting time in net, but his numbers ballooned in 1984 and he was released by Hartford after the year. Fricker played 4 games the following year before calling it a career and returned home.
Fricker became the head coach for the Delta Flyers in 1986 but lasted just a season behind the bench. A few years later he founded 'The Goalie Store' a small business that manufactured custom ice hockey and lacrosse goaltending equipment. On the company website, Fricker would post articles giving tips about how to play the position and he was able to parlay that knowledge into eventually becoming the goaltending coach for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Fricker remained with Seattle for seven years before taking the same job closer to home with the Vancouver Giants. He was let go 11 games into his third season after the team's terrible start. Fricker was only gone from the Giants for a short time and he was brought back to his former post when there was no sign of improvement from the team's two starters. He continues to serve in that capacity as of 2021.
Statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1977–78 Vancouver Jr. Canucks PJHL — — — — 1800 174 0 5.80 — — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Richmond Sockeyes PJHL — — — — 1630 100 0 3.68 — — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Victoria Cougars WHL 1 1 0 0 40 3 0 4.50 .842 — — — — — — — — 1979–80 Michigan WCHA 35 20 12 2 2032 148 0 4.37 .883 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Michigan WCHA 34 18 15 0 1955 128 0 3.93 .891 — — — — — — — — 1981–82 Oklahoma City Stars CHL 44 12 28 0 2363 187 0 4.75 .876 2 — — — — — — — 1981–82 Binghamton Whalers AHL 2 0 0 0 80 7 0 5.25 — — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Binghamton Whalers AHL 39 13 18 3 2127 130 1 3.67 .885 2 — — — — — — — 1983–84 Binghamton Whalers AHL 30 10 17 2 1731 149 3 5.16 .854 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 4 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — NCAA totals 69 38 27 2 3987 276 0 4.15 .887 — — — — — — — — AHL totals 71 23 35 5 3938 286 4 4.36 — — — — — — — — —
Head coaching record Team Year Regular season G W L T Pts FinishDelta Flyers1986–875229230583rd in Coastal Conference
Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA Second Team 1980–81 AHCA West All-American 1980–81
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