There's a pretty simple reason Casey Tuttle became a goaltender 10 years ago.

"I was always getting hand-me-down equipment," said Tuttle, whose older brother Dan played forward. "I wanted new stuff."

Tuttle made the most of his new stuff, starring in goal at Cony High School for three years before moving on to Kents Hill for a year. From there, Tuttle did a two-year stint with the Portland Junior Pirates.

These days, he's the starting goalie at Elmira College, the No. 2 ranked Division III team in the country. A sophomore, Tuttle is 14-0-2 for the Soaring Eagles with three shutouts.

He earned the starting job midway through last season, finishing with an 11-5-2 record and a 2.71 goals-against average. He's been even better this season, allowing an average of 1.66 goals a game.

"He's an angles goaltender," Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski said. "He's not flopping all over the place. He's making the saves he has to make."

Tuttle's season ended abruptly during the playoffs last season when he slid across the crease and tore his groin muscle. He was on crutches for eight weeks and off the ice until August.

"I couldn't get surgery," Tuttle said. "It was a muscle tear instead of a ligament tear."

Tuttle saw a big improvement in his game with the Junior Pirates. It was the first time he had an actual goalie coach and worked hard to perfect his butterfly style, often facing 35-40 shots a game.

He had hoped to land a spot on a Division I team like his brother Dan, a forward at Clarkson, but Ceglarski and his staff were persistent. Tuttle was sold after arriving on the 1,200-student campus in western New York. "It's a nice campus," Tuttle said of his visit. "They had just gotten back from nationals. Hockey is big here."

Big enough that it draws nearly 3,000 fans for weekend home games.

Tuttle saw a big difference in level of play from juniors to Division III, but worked hard and was rewarded with a start early last season against ECAC West rival Manhattanville. He recently went to nearby Clarkson to watch his brother play and noted a difference in size and speed between Division I and Division III players.

That's not to say Division III isn't tough, however.

"Twenty to 40 percent of these guys, when they graduate, will go on to play some level of (pro) hockey, whether it be Europe or here," Tuttle said.

Tuttle could be in that group, although he's not thinking that far ahead right now. He's a good student, pulling down a 3.34 GPA as an accounting major, so he could jump right into the job market.

For now, he's concentrating on getting the team back to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four. The Soaring Eagles have been there six times but have yet to win a national title.

Aside from getting new equipment, Tuttle enjoys playing goalie.

"I like the style and the pressure," he said. "If a goalie does something big, you notice it."

Ceglarski would like to see Tuttle improve on his puckhandling skills, but calls that minor.

"For the most part he's very solid," the coach said. "First and foremost, he's a terrific kid. He's a very, very solid young man."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com