Battle Mountain ice hockey coach Gary Defina knew he was getting something special when he saw goalie Kalen Burnett try out his freshman year.

Then, Defina did what he thought was the best thing for Burnett -- he cut him.

"I knew that he was going to be good when I first saw him," said Defina, who had two solid goalies that season and didn't want Burnett to make the team, only to sit the bench.

"He didn't make the team his freshman year and went back to his bantam team. When he came out for his sophomore year he made the team, and I knew that he could be that type of a player that would step in and be that guy.

"I think that he could be the best goalie we've ever had."

Burnett played in only two games his sophomore year, but that was only a glimpse of things to come.

In his first season as a starter last season, Burnett helped guide the Huskies to the state title game for the first time since 2005. He posted a 14-3 record (the 14 wins were the second most in the state), four shutouts, 320 saves, a .917 saves percentage and a goals-against average of 1.72.

Burnett, an honorable mention all-state pick last season and now in his senior season, knows trying to equal what he did last season will be tough.

"I don't know if I can duplicate those numbers," Burnett said. "I don't think that I can outdo my win number, but I've got a feeling that I'll be able to get more saves, because I'm going to be facing a lot more shots this year. I hope that I can at least tie my 14 wins, but I would really like to get to 15."

It could be a tough season in net for Burnett, as the Huskies lost 12 seniors and a majority of their defensemen, including All-Colorado defenseman Jonny Stevens, to graduation. Burnett said he would rather be busy making saves than standing around, though.

"I can't really say that defense is not that important, because it is. We only have two returning defensemen; we need to have some players step it up," Burnett said. "Between making 40-plus saves or 10 saves in a game, I'd rather be making the 40 saves, because I know that I'm always reacting and moving around instead of just sitting around, making a save every five minutes."

With a young team surrounding Burnett, Defina knows his senior welcomes the responsibility of taking the team on his shoulders.

"I think that he's up to the challenge," Defina said. "Talent- and depthwise, we aren't as deep as we were last year, and we've talked about it, but I think that he and (junior teammate) Connor (Tedstrom) are looking forward to that challenge.

"Kalen is one of those players who rise to the occasion, and his play becomes better the bigger the game is."