Rick Best

Richard W. Best is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who was an All-American for Michigan Tech. After blanking the Bears, some were surprised when Best was not in goal for the championship game, but when Michigan Tech won 8–2 there was little reason to criticize the move.

Best continued to share the MTU net with Esposito for the next two seasons, helping the team earn the top seed in the conference tournament the following year, only to see the Huskies stymied in the second round by an upstart Michigan State squad. As a senior Best was named to the All-WCHA Second Team and was an All-American. He shared the later honor with Esposito, and the two became the only goaltenders on the same team to both be named All-Americans in the same year (as of 2020).

After graduating, best played one season of professional hockey for the Dayton Gems before retiring. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

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% 1961–62 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 39 9 22 8 2350 168 0 4.30 .837 — — — — — — — — 1962–63 Winnipeg Braves MJHL 37 14 20 3 2245 142 1 3.83 .880 3 0 3 180 18 0 6.00 — 1964–65 Michigan Tech WCHA 14 — — — 840 42 1 3.00 .893 — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Michigan Tech WCHA 13 — — — — — 0 2.62 .901 — — — — — — — — 1966–67 Michigan Tech WCHA 15 — — — 900 45 1 3.00 .895 — — — — — — — — 1967–68 Dayton Gems IHL 31 — — — 1750 123 0 4.22 — 7 — — 442 24 0 3.24 — MJHL totals 76 23 42 11 4595 310 1 4.05 .860 — — — — — — — — NCAA totals 42 — — — — — 2 2.88 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA Second Team 1966–67 AHCA West All-American 1966–67