Ferris State Alum Pat Nagle Named To 2022 United States Olympic Team

Ferris State Alum Pat Nagle Named To 2022 United States Olympic Team

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team will again be represented in the upcoming Winter Olympics as former Bulldog goaltender and longtime professional Pat Nagle has been chosen to represent the United States as part of Team USA at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. He was named today to the US Olympic Team that will compete in Beijing, China.

Nagle, who is currently midst his 11th season of professional hockey, was on the United States' final roster that was unveiled on ESPN2's The Point on Thursday evening. He's one of 25 members of the squad chosen to compete for the USA and was an American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America choice as a Bulldog senior in 2011.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for Pat Nagle and we're proud of all his accomplishments," said longtime FSU head coach Bob Daniels. "He has been a great ambassador for Ferris State Hockey and this is well-deserved. We're looking forward to watching him and Team USA represent our great country in the Winter Olympics."

Overall, Nagle will be the sixth former Ferris State Hockey player to compete in the Olympic games, joining past participants Bob Nardella (Italy, 1998, 2006), Norm Krumpschmid (Austria, 1998), Jason Blake (United States, 2006), Chris Kunitz (Canada, 2014) and Chad Billins (United States, 2018). A four-time Stanley Cup Champion, Kunitz helped Team Canada to the Olympic gold medal in 2014.

This year will mark the third consecutive Winter Olympic Games in which the Bulldogs have had an alum on one of the Olympic teams.

The 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games are slated to take place Feb. 3-20 in Beijing. The US has won 11 medals in the Olympic Winter Games, including gold in 1960 and 1980. Most recently, the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey team placed seventh among 12 teams competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. Recently, John Vanbiesbrouck, the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, was named general manager of the 2022 United States Olympic team with David Quinn tabbed as the head coach.

The United States is set to open preliminary round action against host China on Feb. 10 with faceoff set for 8:10 a.m. (ET) at the National Indoor Stadium. FSU then faces Canada on Feb. 11 at 11:10 p.m. (ET) with the prelim finale set for Feb. 13 at 8:10 a.m. (ET) against Germany. The top four teams (three group winners and the second-ranked team with the best record) will move straight on to the quarterfinals on the men's side. The remaining teams will play in qualification playoff games February 14-15 with the quarterfinals set for February 15-16. The semifinals take place February 17-18. The bronze-medal matchup scheduled for February 19 at 8:10 a.m. (ET), with the gold-medal game at 11:10 p.m. (ET). NBC is the television home of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in the United States.

Currently, Nagle is playing this season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, an affiliate of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, where he owns a 5-0-3 mark in net with a 2.74 goals against average and a .897 save percentage in eight games. He played 12 contests in the ECHL with the Reading Royals, netting a 7-2-3 record and a 2.58 GAA and .927 save percentage this season.

Now in his 11th season on the professional level, the 6-2, 200-pound Nagle has played in 48 games on the AHL level and owns a career 21-18-5 record with a 2.69 goals against average and .905 save figure in 2,657 minutes between the pipes. He's compiled 1,130 saves in stints with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Utica Comets, Rochester Americans, Syracuse Crunch and the Phantoms. He originally signed with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

Prior to this season, Nagle spent the past four seasons in the Detroit Red Wings' organization with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and the ECHL's Toledo Walleye. Last year with Grand Rapids, he finished 6-6-0 with a 2.78 GAA and a .892 save percentage.

Nagle has also had a standout and accomplished career in the ECHL where his 191 wins entering the year ranked fifth all-time and his six seasons of 20-plus wins was tied for third in the history of the league. He took Toledo to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2018-19 with 14 postseason wins and he won the Kelly Cup with the Florida Everglades as a rookie in 2011-12 with a league-best 1.42 postseason GAA. In 2017-18, he appeared in the ECHL All-Star Game and was named to the All-ECHL Second Team with a league-leading 37 wins. Nagle's ECHL travels have included stops with Florida, Idaho, Fort Wayne, Toledo and Reading. In 2019-20, Nagle made the most of his longest AHL opportunity when he successfully made the jump to the Grand Rapids Griffins in 20 games, going 9-8-1, 2.32, .920.

While at Ferris State, Nagle earned 2010-11 All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) First-Team recognition and was among three finalists for the CCHA RBC Player of the Year Award in his final season at Ferris State. A Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate, Nagle registered an 18-14-5 record in net in his senior campaign as a 37-game starter while producing a 2.02 goals-against average (74 goals allowed) and a .923 saves percentage (885 saves) in 2,192:41 minutes of action between the posts. Nagle totaled 30 or more saves in a contest on nine occasions that year, which included a season game-high 37 stops at nationally-ranked Michigan (Jan. 14) and 36 saves versus nationally-ranked Miami (Nov. 6).

In his final season with the Bulldogs, Nagle was chosen as the CCHA's Goaltender of the Week (Nov. 8) and received Inside College Hockey.com First-Half All-CCHA Team accolades.  He was tabbed as a CCHA Preseason Second-Team honoree prior to the 2010-11 campaign. 

For his four-year (2007-11) career, Nagle amassed a 45-42-11 record with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .916 saves percentage in 101 appearances at Ferris State.  Nagle concludes a stellar career ranking tied for first place on the Bulldogs' all-time goaltending leaders in save percentage (.916), second in both victories (45) and goals-against average (2.32), third in minutes played (5,801:14), fourth in saves (2,451), tied for fourth in games played (101), fifth in shutouts (five), and sixth in winning percentage (.515).