Written by Tony Lee
SportsTicker Staff Writer

In four years as a standout goalie for the University of Minnesota, Adam Hauser had to fight to prove himself in the face of consistent criticism. Now in his second year as a pro, the Minnesota native continues to battle the odds at each new level.

By all indications, and with a history of on-ice success, the struggle has only made him stronger.

The 23-year-old began this season undefeated (3-0-1) in four games with the Reading Royals of the ECHL before getting a call-up to the Manchester Monarchs, for whom he has gone 5-1-1 with the league's second-best goals-against average (1.54) through November 25.

A groin injury to Mathieu Chouinard on October 25 opened the door for Hauser to earn significant time in Manchester, and he was more than ready to fill the gap.

"It's just one of those things where they had two goalies up here in Manchester," Hauser said. "And I was just hoping that any hard work that I can put in day-to-day in Reading would help me. I thought if I end up getting the call to Manchester then I have to continue that up here."

Hauser did not miss a beat upon moving north. The 6-2, 194-pounder posted a shutout in each of his first two starts with the Monarchs and extended his scoreless streak to 160:38 before allowing a goal in a 1-1 tie against the Worcester IceCats on November 7. Since, Manchester has been victorious in three of Hauser's four starts.

"It's all about wins and losses," Hauser said. "You have a new guy in, you have goalies go down with injury, so everybody had to buckle down and we did. We started winning games and it felt good."

Siding with the victors is nothing new to Hauser, who backstopped the Golden Gophers to a national crown in 2002, denying 42 shots in a 4-3 overtime thriller vs. the University of Maine in the finals. With a stand-out performance to culminate a record-setting career in Minnesota, Hauser had earned the title of a national championship goalie at a school rich in hockey tradition. As sweet as the label seemed, however, it was difficult for him to forget the media and a number of fans that panned him for four years.

"As a 19 or 20-year-old it's sometimes hard to handle the media situation in a big city like Minneapolis," Hauser said of Gopher hockey being like religion in those parts. "No matter where you go, you're always going to have people who doubt you."

A third-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 1999 draft, Hauser has faced his share of doubters since turning pro at a position where competition is cutthroat.

Edmonton released Hauser in the summer of 2002, whereby he earned a tryout with the Boston Bruins, only to be released again. He would get his pro start with the Jackson Bandits, where he proceeded to lead the ECHL with five shutouts and finish with a goals-against average of 2.46, good for third in the league.

A second shot with the Bruins yielded one start in net for Providence in early April, giving Hauser a taste of the AHL before he endured a third release.

A two-time member of the All-Academic team of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Hauser signed a two-way deal with Manchester and Reading in the off-season, preparing for another move and his third organization in two years.

Despite the steady change of scenery for him and his wife Cindy, Hauser maintains that such tests will only make him stronger, much like those four years at Minnesota.

"The hardest part is bouncing around like that," he said. "I think in the end all these types of adversity, they're going to help me."

One man who would not mind seeing Hauser stick around for awhile is Monarchs' coach Bruce Boudreau, who has the 2003 ECHL All-Star to thank in part for the club owning 23 standing points and sitting tied atop the Atlantic Division.

"He's making quite a bid for himself," Boudreau said, hinting at the winning percentage the coach feels is always the most important statistic.

"He's won wherever he's gone," Boudreau added. "He won in Jackson. He won in Reading. He won at the University of Minnesota. Now he's winning here. There's something to be said for winning goalies. People like goalies that win."

After posting a record of 23-6-4 during the championship run for the Gophers, Hauser has gone 28-10-6 as a pro with a remarkable 24-4-6 run since December 7 of last year.

A key component to Hauser's game, perhaps advanced by playing in the pressure-packed games of the NCAA Frozen Four, is his ability to come through in the clutch, a trend not lost on Boudreau.

"He's let in a couple of soft goals but when we needed him to make the big save at the right time, he's made the big save," Boudreau said. "Being clutch is something you can't teach goalies. Adam is of that vein. It's a very good quality and we hope he continues to do it."

Boudreau went as far as comparing Hauser to Hall of Fame netminder Gerry Cheevers, who was known to have a knack for keeping his club in a spot to win, even on off nights.

Faced with negativity in college and moving from club to club in his short time as a pro has certainly humbled Hauser. He readily admits that he has had to curb his ego and just look to improve, mostly on building his strength around the net and sharpening his focus.

Hauser uses some of the game's top goaltenders as inspiration for an advanced mental make-up.

"I look at the NHL and a lot of the best goalies aren't the young guys," he said, quickly naming Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Dominic Hasek as veterans he admires. "They have experience and they've been around and held on through the bad times."

Despite a great deal of success, Hauser considers some of the bad times to be in the past. Regardless of where the organization places him when all are healthy, he has a proven track record with the ability to win at each level.

For Boudreau, who has been involved in the professional game for 30 years, the formula is simple.

"We see a future for him," he said. "As long as he keeps putting up the wins he'll get chances to play."