There’s one thing for certain, Cam Johnson is the University of North Dakota’s starting goaltender. Unless he gets hurt or performs very poorly, he’s probably going to get 95-100 percent of UND starts this season. I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I think someone else should get a start between the pipes. At this time, I’d say no.
I don’t see goaltending as UND’s problem. Secondary scoring and special teams play are. For those that are wondering, senior goalie Matt Hrynkiw is definitely UND’s second string goalie. He’s traveled with the team to the away series. I think that speaks volumes.
Like I’ve said in the past, from a fan’s perspective, the second and third string goalies are the most popular players on a team that’s struggling. We know very little about Matej Tomek. I don’t recall him even being at a press conference. I interviewed briefly last season but didn’t write anything about him. So, we haven’t heard him speak, so here’s your chance to see what he has to say. This from an IIHF article that was posted this year.
“I didn’t get to play last year because of a pre-season groin injury that needed surgery, and recovery time from it,” Matej said. “But I was really happy to be on the team we had last year. It was an amazing group of guys that was able to accomplish a big thing after sixteen years of our program not winning a National Championship, so everyone was really excited when we won. Everyone on the team was really happy about it, so it was a great first college hockey experience to be a part of the National Championship team even though I didn’t play.”
“Expectation for me personally is the same as when I first came here. I want to be the number one goalie and play as much as I can. This is also my last year to try and play in the World Juniors for Slovakia so I think the World Juniors and becoming the number one goalie at UND is the prime goals.” (World Junior 2017)
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