When ISU women’s hockey club head coach Blake Marshall found out on Monday afternoon that goalkeeper Justine Skibbe was ranked the No. 1 goaltender by the American Collegiate Hockey Association, he was surprised.

Skibbe was surprised too.

“I took a look at the ratings and I was actually pretty surprised because the St. Cloud State [Minn.] goaltender and the University of Wisconsin goaltender are both tremendous goaltenders,” Marshall said.

“I thought those goaltenders would squeeze in there with a 94 or 95 percent save percentage. It’s great to see [Skibbe] on top.”

So what was her response when she found out on Monday evening about her No. 1 ranking?

“I was surprised,” Skibbe said. “I knew I had a lot of shots during the season … it’s pretty good to be No. 1. Trying to be the best did cross my mind.”

Skibbe said that being ranked the top goaltender is giving her a lot of confidence as the season progresses. “As a goalie, you have nothing without confidence,” Skibbe said. “Monday’s practice, I was going crazy. I was trying to stop everything I could. The other teams will be out to get me so I can get more shots.”

Through 13 games, Skibbe has faced 400 shots and has saved 372 of them — a 92 percent save percentage. The freshman from Arlington Heights, Ill., has a 2.4 goals-against average and has recorded four shutouts.

With those impressive statistics in net, Skibbe has lifted the Cyclones to a 6-6-1 record.

“Those stats are incredibly impressive,” Marshall said. “She’s far and away faced more shots attempted than any other goaltender in the league and to post that save percentage is a tremendous feat.”

Marshall said that Skibbe could have been playing at a Division III school rather than becoming a student-athlete at Iowa State. “To have a kind of talent like that is great,” said Marshall. “We do give up a lot of shots. It’s great for our players. They know if they make a mistake that Justine is going to be there and save the puck.”

So how did Skibbe end up at Iowa State?

“I met Coach Marshall in the Chicago Showcase my senior year in high school. He was my coach for that,” Skibbe said. “I was talking to him after a game and he mentioned something about coaching at Iowa State and I’m like ‘Oh really — I applied there.'”

Skibbe was planning to play in the Division III women’s team at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

“I decided that I didn’t want to make that much of a commitment for hockey,” Skibbe said. “I’m actually doing the Army Reserve here at Iowa State. I want to keep my options open.”

Marshall approached Skibbe in the Chicago Showcase and talked to her about the opportunities that Iowa State offered.

“I talk about the type of program that we’re trying to build here. She was really interested after that,” said Marshall. “It’s a little bit closer to home for her then what the other school that she happened to be looking at and so in that respect, I think that was a big selling point in her decision.”

One of Skibbe’s highlights this season was that she recorded 68 saves out of 70 shots in an 2-0 loss to Michigan on Oct.19. “I didn’t knew until my coach told me that I had that many saves,” said Skibbe. “I had a few games in high school where I had that many saves, but I never had it where the game stayed that closed with that many saves and that many shots.”

Marshall said that Skibbe has been a lot more patient in the net since the first game.

“In the beginning of the year, goaltenders seem to be a little jumpy. They almost over-react to the puck,” Marshall said. “I’ve seen her more calmed down a lot more. She’s making a lot better decisions coming out of the net and playing the puck.”