Goals against average
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goals against average (GAA) is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, box lacrosse, and football (soccer) that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender. It is calculated by multiplying the number of goals allowed by the number of minutes in one game, and then dividing by the number of minutes played. It is typically given to two decimal places.
GAA is analogous to a baseball pitcher's earned run average.
The top goaltenders in the National Hockey League currently have a GAA of about 2.00, although the measure of a good GAA changes as different playing styles come and go. The top goaltenders in the National Lacrosse League however, currently have a GAA of about 10.00, and the top 2005 Western Lacrosse Association goaltenders had a GAA of about 9.00. At their best, elite NCAA water polo goalies have a GAA between 3.00 and 5.00
Since the statistic is highly dependent on the team playing in front of a goalie, save percentage is usually considered a more accurate measure of a goaltender's skill.
