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Save Percentage Calculator

Find a goalie's save percentage from shots on goal and goals against, and compare it with any benchmark rate.

Level: Grade 6

  • Common Core standard 6.RP.A.3.cFind a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.
Printable worksheet

Save Percentage Calculator

Inputs

Shots that would have gone in without a save. Shots that miss the net or are blocked don't count.

Enter as a decimal, for example 0.905. Shows how many goals a goalie at that rate would have allowed on the same shots.

Result

Save percentage

0.933

28 saves on 30 shots is a .933 save percentage. A .900 goalie would have allowed 3 goals on the same shots.

As written in goalie stats
.933
As a percent
93.3%
Saves
28
Goals a .900 goalie would allow
3
Goals saved compared with that rate
1

See the step-by-step solution ↓

Step-by-step solution

  1. Saves are the shots on goal that did not go in

    30−2=28

  2. Save percentage is saves divided by shots on goal against

    2830=0.933333

  3. Write it to three decimals without the leading zero, the way hockey stat sheets show it

    0.933333 → .933

  4. A goalie at .900 lets in (1 − rate) of the shots

    30×(1−0.9)=3

  5. Goals saved compared with that goalie

    3−2=1

Test yourself

20 quick questions built from this calculator's formula: work out results, predict what happens when an input changes, and work backward from an answer. Every answer comes with the working.

What this calculator does

Find your goalie's save percentage in seconds, and see how it stacks up against any benchmark. Save percentage is the share of shots on goal a goalie stops. It is the cleanest single measure of goaltending because it doesn't depend on how many shots the team in front of the goalie allows. Hockey writes it like a batting average, to three decimals with no leading zero, so 28 saves on 30 shots is .933.

Enter shots on goal against and goals against. The calculator finds saves and the save percentage in both styles. If you give a comparison rate, it also shows how many goals a goalie at that rate would have allowed on the same shots. The difference is a handy goals-saved figure fans use to judge a hot or cold stretch.

Where it's used

Why this math matters outside the classroom:

  • Goalie stat lines. A goalie who stops 28 of 30 shots has a save percentage of 28 ÷ 30, which hockey writes as .933.
  • Comparing goalies. On 30 shots a .900 goalie allows 30 × 0.1 = 3 goals, so allowing 2 is one goal better than that rate.
  • Youth hockey coaching. Coaches count shots and goals for each goalie during a tournament and compare save percentages at the end.
  • Soccer keepers. A keeper who concedes 3 goals on 12 shots on target has saved 9 of 12, a 75% save rate.
  • Percent practice. Students turn saves and shots into a decimal, a percent and the three-decimal sports style.

Grade level and standards: Grade 6; Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 6.RP.A.3.c. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

How to use it

  1. Enter the shots on goal the goalie faced.
  2. Enter the goals allowed on those shots.
  3. Optionally enter a comparison save percentage as a decimal, such as 0.905, or clear it to skip the comparison.
  4. Read the save percentage, then the goals saved compared with the benchmark.

What the inputs mean

Shots on goal against (SA)
Shots on goal only: shots that hit the net or would have gone in without a save. Missed and blocked attempts are not shots on goal.
Compare with a save percentage of (optional)
Any benchmark you like, entered as a decimal between 0 and 1. A recent league average or a backup goalie's rate are common choices.

Formula and method

saves = SA − GA
SV% = saves ÷ SA
goals at benchmark = SA × (1 − benchmark)
goals saved = goals at benchmark − GA

In the formulas, SA is shots on goal against, GA is goals against and SV% is the save percentage. The benchmark is the comparison rate you enter.

Saves are the shots on goal that didn't go in. Dividing by shots on goal gives a rate between 0 and 1, which is printed to three decimals.

A goalie at the benchmark rate lets in (1 − rate) of the shots, so on 30 shots a .900 goalie allows 3 goals. If our goalie allowed 2, they saved 1 goal more than the benchmark would have. A negative number means they allowed more.

Worked example

A goalie for the invented Harbor Pines faces 30 shots on goal and allows 2 goals. Compare with a .900 goalie.

  1. Saves: 30 − 2 = 28.
  2. Save percentage: 28 ÷ 30 = 0.933333, written .933.
  3. A .900 goalie allows 30 × (1 − 0.9) = 3 goals on the same shots.
  4. Goals saved compared with that goalie: 3 − 2 = 1.

Result: The save percentage is .933 (93.3%), one goal better than a .900 goalie would have managed.

Understanding the result

In professional hockey, league-wide save percentages in recent seasons have been around .900 to .910, so .920 is very good and .890 is poor over a season. Soccer goalkeepers face fewer, harder shots and often post rates around 70%.

Save percentage swings a lot over a few games. A single bad goal on 20 shots moves it by .050, so judge goalies over many games and weigh the quality of shots faced.

Assumptions and limitations

  • Goals against are goals scored while the goalie was in net; empty-net goals aren't charged to any goalie.
  • The comparison just applies the benchmark rate to the same number of shots; it doesn't adjust for shot quality.
  • All shots on goal count the same, though a breakaway is far harder to stop than a long shot.
  • Shootout attempts are usually kept out of season save percentage and should not be entered here.

Frequently asked questions

Why is save percentage written as .915 instead of 91.5%?

It is a hockey tradition borrowed from baseball averages. Both mean the same thing: 915 saves for every 1,000 shots on goal.

Do blocked shots count in save percentage?

No. Only shots on goal count. A shot blocked by a skater or one that misses the net never reaches the goalie and is left out of both saves and shots.

Can I use this for soccer?

Yes. Enter shots on target against and goals conceded. Soccer usually shows the result as a percentage, which the calculator also gives.

What is the difference between save percentage and goals against average?

Save percentage measures how often the goalie stops a shot. Goals against average counts goals allowed per 60 minutes, so it also reflects how many shots the defense gives up.

Sources

How this calculator is checked

Method: Saves ÷ shots on goal against, as defined in the professional league's statistics glossary; goals-saved comparison as shots × (1 − benchmark) − goals against. The calculation is covered by automated tests with known reference values and edge cases. Last updated 2026-10-18. Found a problem? Tell us.

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