Sometimes you have to wait for your opportunity. That’s exactly what happened to UND Junior goalie Peter Thome. Through the first 19 games of the season, Thome sat on the bench and watched Adam Scheel rack up wins and accolades.
Suddenly, Thome’s fortunes changed. On January 10, 2020, against the Omaha Mavericks, the ever-steady Scheel let in four goals on eight shots. With roughly 25 minutes remaining in the game, Thome took the net.
Since then, Thome has played in five games. The Minneapolis, Minnesota native is 3-0-1, 1.44 GAA and a .927 save percentage. What’s more impressive, of the six goals Thome has let in, five have come on the opponent’s power play.
While Thome waited for his opportunity, his goalie coach Karl Goehring kept him grounded and focused.
“It’s pretty special in college you get then chance to work with an NHL-level goalie coach. Not just once, or twice a week, it’s every day he’s at the rink. He spends all day here, and he’s always available to chat if I have questions. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s always pushing me never let me be satisfied.
“During that stretch in the first half where I didn’t play, we had a few conversations where you know frustration might have been getting to me a little bit, and he said, ‘hey, no, absolutely not’. You got to be a man. You’ve got to put the work boots on every day and prepare for your opportunity because one’s going to come. That’s just kind of the reality. If you don’t prepare for it, and it comes and you’re not ready, you might not get another one. I can’t say enough good things (about him).”
Pinto and Brink Fighting For NCHC ROY
If I was a betting man, and I am. I will predict when it’s all said and done, the NCHC Rookie of the year is going to reside in Denver or Grand Forks. Currently, in conference play, Bobby Brink (5g-9a–14pts) leads Shane Pinto (7g-5a–12pts) by two points. (Link to stats)
Overall, Brink (10g-12a-22pts) leads Pinto (12g-9a–21pts) by a single point. Last night, both players had beautiful goals.
UNO
Bobby Brink is a smooth operator #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/S0hnLYrGDo
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) February 1, 2020
DOS
🚨Power Play Pinto 🚨#UNDproud @UNDmhockey pic.twitter.com/lRAbfxsZtL
— UND Insider (@UNDinsider) February 1, 2020
A Look at the Numbers
Looking at the numbers, it would appear that tonight’s game should be a onesided event. Defensively, the Tigers are not very good, they’re giving up three and a half goals a game. On Friday night, they did a good job holding UND off the scoreboard most of the night.
UND – CC
4.04………………………………Goals……………………………. 2.70
2.08………………………Goals Against……………………. 3.57
+1.96……………………Scoring Margin…………………..-0.87
9.2……………………….Penalty Minutes………………….. 10.8
(21/102) 20.6%……………Power Play……….(15/101) 15.3%
(79/91) 86.8%……………..Penalty Kill………….(55/81) 67.9%
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
