The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that the Idaho Falls Spud Kings’ Tucker Inabinet has been named as the Mountain Division 2023-24 Most Valuable Player and Goaltender of the Year, voted in by the division’s coaches. 

Inabinet, a 2003-born native of Phoenix and a Jr. Coyotes grad, is the first NCDC MVP to have played for three different teams in the same year. The Castleton University (NCAA Division III) recruit began the season with the South Shore Kings, was dealt to the Rock Springs Grizzlies and finished the year with the Spud Kings, where he had his greatest success of the year. 

Inabinet registered a full season save percentage of .930, which was good for fourth overall, joined the Spud Kings in a trade on Jan. 2, 2024. From that point to the end of the regular season, Inabinet ranked first in goals against average (1.98) and save percentage (.943). His 11 wins were third-most in the 2024 portion of the season. 

“It’s an honor to be selected as both the MVP and Goaltender Of The Year. A huge thank you to my coaches in the Mountain Division for giving me the chance to prove myself,” said Inabinet. “To the Spud Kingdom, thank you for your continued support of me and my teammates, it’s been a blast playing for the people of Idaho Falls. Lastly, I’m very grateful for my amazing billets this season. I appreciate you more than you know.”

After playing in four games with the South Shore Kings to start the season, and he was then traded to Rock Springs on Oct. 18 for a draft pick and tender. And guess who was in the net for the Grizzlies’ first-ever NCDC win – and shutout, at that? Inabinet stopped all 32 shots he faced from the Pueblo Bulls on Oct. 20, his debut with his new team. Inabinet went on to post a .922 save percentage despite the Grizzlies struggling to put together victories. 

Once again, after the second trade, he won his first game with his new team, making 36 saves on Jan. 4 to defeat Pueblo. He would continue to haunt the Bulls all year, as the Spud Kings had to outlast Pueblo to earn the final Mountain Division playoff spot, a race in which they would ultimately succeed. A five-game personal winning streak by Inabinet from January into February was a big help toward this aim. It also included his second shutout of the year, a 30-save beauty against the Utah Outliers on Feb. 9. Over his final eight games of the regular season, Inabinet never gave up more than two goals in a 60-65-minute game. 

In that last stretch of trying to outlast Pueblo in the playoff race, Inabinet went 4-2-0-2 with a 1.56 GAA and a .956 save percentage, truly rising to the occasion. When the dust had settled on the first season in the NCDC’s Mountain Division, Inabinet had played the most minutes of any NCDC goalie with 2,466. 

During the playoffs against the eventual Dineen Cup Finalist Ogden Mustangs, he went 1-2-1 with a .929 save percentage, including making 38 saves on 39 shots in the Spud Kings’ historic first NCDC playoff win, a 2-1 OT victory on April 1. One game prior, he battled and made 45 saves on 48 shots, but the Spud Kings eventually fell 3-1. 

“Tucker was the backbone of this team down the stretch run and he is a world class goaltender,” said Spud Kings General Manager Erik Hudson. “We knew that a goalie with the ability that Tucker has would mean an opportunity to push our team into not only being a playoff contender, but also a real threat to win the Mountain Division. 

“I am going to miss watching him in a Spud Kings uniform, but I know that he will shine at the NCAA level with Castleton and Coach [Kyle] Richards next season,” added Hudson. 

— Joshua Boyd/NCDCHockey.com

(April 23, 2024)