Goalie Approaches Final Four Goal

Ken Baum always dreamed of playing in the NCAA Final Four and this might be the year that the El Camino Real High graduate finally gets his chance.

But Baum’s Final Four dream is packed in ice. Baum, 22, is a reserve goalie for the sixth-ranked Northeastern University hockey team, which plays Merrimack (Mass.) in a first-round game this weekend.

“This is pretty exciting,” said Baum, who is from West Hills. “The crowds back here are wild.”

Baum played junior hockey in Culver City, which is not exactly where scouts from the National Hockey League go to search for the next Wayne Gretzky.

“It’s tough being from California,” said Baum, who, after graduating from El Camino Real, attended prep school in New Hampshire so he could acclimate himself to East Coast hockey. “If I was to do it all over again, I would have told them I was from Vancouver.”

Baum decided to attend Northeastern in Boston because of Coach Fern Flaman’s reputation for welcoming walk-ons. Baum, 5-foot-10 1/2, 185 pounds, competed against 30 goalies in tryouts and survived the cut. He spent two years with the junior varsity and played sparingly with the varsity last season.

Before this season, Baum was told that he had “a 95% chance of not making the varsity.” He eventually was called up to the varsity and was given a start against Maine, the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

“It was either do or die,” said Baum, who stopped 33 shots in the Huskies’ 5-3 win.

If Northeastern (12-8-3) beats Merrimack, it will meet Lake Superior State in the quarterfinals for a chance to play in the Final Four at Lake Placid, N.Y.

“I’m basically around for insurance and to help out the younger kids,” said Baum, who plans to catch on with a minor league team after he graduates. “I’m not going to give the sport up. I’ve put too much time into it to stop now.”