Joshua Thorimbert, senior net minder for the Colorado College Tigers, was almost as intimidating as a real tiger during the games against Clarkson on Oct. 25 and 26.
Keeping an astounding 70 out of 73 shots at bay over the course of two games, Thorimbert kept the Tigers within striking distance in both of their close losses, 2-1 and 1-0 the next night. On a positive note, Thorimbert received the coveted National Collegiate Hockey Conference Goaltender of the week award.
“It’s a great honor,” says Thorimbert on receiving the award. “[It] shows that we are playing good defensively as a team and that’s a positive thing to start the year.”
He stopped almost every shot that was thrown at him and maintained a .959 goals against average. Thorimbert says that those two games just felt like business as usual.
“As a goalie, all you want to do every game is give the guys a chance to win and play your hardest night in and night out,” says Thorimbert. “During the game all you think about is making that next save. As a goalie you can never be too high or too low.”
Thorimbert credits this excellent performance to his level-headedness. “You have to keep an even keel mindset and just play the hardest for the boys beside you” he says.
Hailing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Thorimbert says his love of hockey was cultivated at a very young age and thanks his parents for the inspirational role they played not only his hockey career but also his life.
“I started playing when I was six years old,” Thorimbert recalls. “My Dad and Mom were always huge influences. They taught me to enjoy the game, work hard, and have fun.”
Although the Tigers are 1-5 on the season so far after the recent losses to Western Michigan, the Tigers keep their eyes forward and refuse to let their misfortunes bring them down.
“I think we have been playing really well defensively as a team, which is a positive sign,” says Thorimbert. “As a team, we need to continue to grow in all aspects and keep working hard. We just need to worry about getting better every day and good things will happen.”
Looking inward for the solutions to the team’s recent blunders, the Tigers are only six games into the season and have left themselves plenty of room to claw their way back into their conference. Thorimbert and the Tigers will be playing divisional rival Denver this Friday at World Arena.
James Shephard, Guest Writer
Hey Nick, great article