Knight's season hinges on goaltending
Goalies are crazy. I mean this is
the most complimentary of ways.
Think about it. They stand in front of a frozen puck being shot at speeds of over 120 kilometres per hour. Sounds pretty crazy to me.
Yet hockey teams rely on this one position so much that the fate of their season rests in the hands of their goaltender.
The 2014 London Knights are no different. This season’s hockey club will only go as far as the shoulders of goaltender Michael Giugovaz can carry it.
Entering play on November 21, Giugovaz – affectionately nicknamed “Jiggy” – had a superb 10- 3-0 record but it has been coupled with a run of the mill 3.10 goals against average and save percentage of .913.
Although a grizzled veteran at 19 years of age and having played for two other organizations, this is Giugovaz’s first season as a full time starter. The heavier workload is giving Giugovaz an opportunity to shine even though he hasn’t fully taken advantage of it yet.
“I’ve just got to do the little things better,” said Giugovaz. “You’ve got to really concentrate on getting your sleep at night and practicing really hard every day. The flow of steady games can definitely keep you on your toes and keep you going. It’s tough only playing after so long.”
His backup, goaltender Tyler Parsons, has not fared as well in his first season in the OHL. Parsons entered the weekend with a 3-5-0 record and a 3.79 goals against average and .887 save percentage.
Having been in the league for five seasons now, Giugovaz is eager to be a mentor and pass on some of his wisdom to the 16-year-old Parsons.
“[Our relationship] is really strong actually,” he said. “He’s a young guy and I’ve been around the league playing for a couple different teams so I just try to share some stories with him and help him out as much as I can.”
Having a role model wasn’t a major motivator growing up for Giugovaz, but he does have a couple of goalies he has looked up to over the years.
“If you go back Hextall, ‘Psycho,’ he gets the job done. I think that’s a big role model [for me],” Giugovaz said. “With the modern era, [Johnathan] Quick is obviously [someone] every goalie in the league wants to be as quick as him. But you’ve got to be careful with that though and take a little bit of everyone else’s game otherwise you lose your own personal style.”
While not a fan of reliving past performances, his pregame preparation is as routine as they come.
“We do a little bit of film,” Giugovaz said. “I’m not a huge fan on that. I kind of don’t like to see myself. I’ll look at the goals and see what I did wrong but the regular saves I know I’m good enough to make those. As far as actual pregame day, definitely my meal normally always stays the same. I take a nap in the afternoon and just come to the rink and be ready to go.”
Having witnessed former Knights goalie Jake Patterson be forced into an early retirement before this season because of a limit on players who are 20 years old, Giugovaz is staying focused on this season rather than thinking about what his future may hold next season.
“I have to take it day by day and see what happens. If you start looking too much into the future you lose yourself,” Giugovaz said.
As the season presses on, the Knights will be hopeful that Jiggy can come up with the key saves when needed because the Memorial Cup hopes will rest in his hands.
Think about it. They stand in front of a frozen puck being shot at speeds of over 120 kilometres per hour. Sounds pretty crazy to me.
Yet hockey teams rely on this one position so much that the fate of their season rests in the hands of their goaltender.
The 2014 London Knights are no different. This season’s hockey club will only go as far as the shoulders of goaltender Michael Giugovaz can carry it.
Entering play on November 21, Giugovaz – affectionately nicknamed “Jiggy” – had a superb 10- 3-0 record but it has been coupled with a run of the mill 3.10 goals against average and save percentage of .913.
Although a grizzled veteran at 19 years of age and having played for two other organizations, this is Giugovaz’s first season as a full time starter. The heavier workload is giving Giugovaz an opportunity to shine even though he hasn’t fully taken advantage of it yet.
“I’ve just got to do the little things better,” said Giugovaz. “You’ve got to really concentrate on getting your sleep at night and practicing really hard every day. The flow of steady games can definitely keep you on your toes and keep you going. It’s tough only playing after so long.”
His backup, goaltender Tyler Parsons, has not fared as well in his first season in the OHL. Parsons entered the weekend with a 3-5-0 record and a 3.79 goals against average and .887 save percentage.
Having been in the league for five seasons now, Giugovaz is eager to be a mentor and pass on some of his wisdom to the 16-year-old Parsons.
“[Our relationship] is really strong actually,” he said. “He’s a young guy and I’ve been around the league playing for a couple different teams so I just try to share some stories with him and help him out as much as I can.”
Having a role model wasn’t a major motivator growing up for Giugovaz, but he does have a couple of goalies he has looked up to over the years.
“If you go back Hextall, ‘Psycho,’ he gets the job done. I think that’s a big role model [for me],” Giugovaz said. “With the modern era, [Johnathan] Quick is obviously [someone] every goalie in the league wants to be as quick as him. But you’ve got to be careful with that though and take a little bit of everyone else’s game otherwise you lose your own personal style.”
While not a fan of reliving past performances, his pregame preparation is as routine as they come.
“We do a little bit of film,” Giugovaz said. “I’m not a huge fan on that. I kind of don’t like to see myself. I’ll look at the goals and see what I did wrong but the regular saves I know I’m good enough to make those. As far as actual pregame day, definitely my meal normally always stays the same. I take a nap in the afternoon and just come to the rink and be ready to go.”
Having witnessed former Knights goalie Jake Patterson be forced into an early retirement before this season because of a limit on players who are 20 years old, Giugovaz is staying focused on this season rather than thinking about what his future may hold next season.
“I have to take it day by day and see what happens. If you start looking too much into the future you lose yourself,” Giugovaz said.
As the season presses on, the Knights will be hopeful that Jiggy can come up with the key saves when needed because the Memorial Cup hopes will rest in his hands.
