Sunday marked the end of Daylight Savings Time, but at the Warrior Rink in Brighton, it was Katie Burt Making All The Saves All The Time.
Kaitlin “Katie” Burt, the phenomenal goaltender from Lynn, BB&N and Boston College, stopped 27 shots for the Boston Pride in their 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Whitecaps, completing a two-game sweep.
While goals were being scored in high numbers on the opening weekend of the Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the National Women’s Hockey League) season, Burt was simply sensational in earning the league’s only shutout of the season to-date.
After being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NWHL draft, Burt played for the Pride and was a league All-Star. The 5-foot-7-inch netminder moved on to another professional organization but decided to return to the Pride for the 2021-22 campaign.
And Burt’s presence makes Coach Paul Mara’s defending Isobel Cup champions the likely favorite to bring the Cup back to Boston.
“Katie played great for us,” said Mara. “She raised us to our victory, the way she played. And I can’t say it is unexpected.”
Mara said Pride officials talked with Katie in May about possibly returning to the team. “We left the door open for her. We had some great dialogue in early summer. It’s great to have her back.”
Mara, a former National Hockey League player and assistant coach of the 2018 gold-medal winning U.S.A. women’s hockey team, said he followed Burt’s career at BC.
“Katie broke some records [she is the all-time NCAA leader in wins] and was a fantastic player at Boston College,” said Mara.
What makes Katie great in net?
“I just think she’s really competitive out there,” said Mara. “She’s one of those players that has the mindset that she doesn’t want to be scored against in practice or in games. She battles hard all the time, which is great.”
Team captain Jillian Dempsey of Winthrop said, like Coach Mara, she wasn’t surprised by Burt’s instant exploits in net.
“That’s exactly what we expect from her,” said Dempsey. “Going in there and making the big saves that we need, and she did just that. She had some really clutch ones, and she delivered, and that’s what we need between the pipes. We’re fortunate we have three very strong goaltenders, so anybody we put in the net, we’re confident in and have faith in.”
In attendance at Sunday’s game were Katie’s parents, Jim Burt and Kris Burt, who have supported their daughter’s amazing career from her beginnings as a varsity goalie in the sixth grade for the Winthrop/Lady Bulldawgs team, to BB&N prep school and U.S.A. national teams, and then to the Heights of BC where she helped the Eagles win the Beanpot and reach the NCAA championship game.
“I knew my parents were here and it meant a lot to me,” said Burt.
Burt said she was happy to be back in Boston playing for the hometown team and recording a shutout in her inaugural 2021-22 appearance.
“This was the season debut for me today, and I felt really good – I felt like I was seeing pucks really well,” said Burt. “Our team did a great job keeping pucks to the outside and every time the puck got within our house, they were blocking shots and really selling out so they could keep the puck out of the net. I think we’re a close-knit group, and I’m really excited to see where we end up at the end of the year.”
Burt, who still lives in Lynn, also works in hockey operations and is the on-ice director at Stop It Goaltending in Woburn, a year-round training and development center.
“So, it’s all goalies, all the time,” said Burt, who coaches several high school goaltenders. “I love coaching, and I love my job at Stop It, and I want to play hockey as long as I can.”
And Katie Burt, the first girl to ever win the Lynn Little League Home Run Derby, plays hockey as well as anyone in the world at her position.