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Thorimbert likely out for Bemidji, Owens OK with Howe
February 8th, 2012, 6:17 pm · 7 Comments · posted by Brian Gomez
Even before Josh Thorimbert trudged to the locker room Saturday in a 2-2 tie against No. 14 Denver, Colorado College coach Scott Owens knew Joe Howe (above) was ready to play.
“The way he jumped over the boards,” Owens said. “We’re still sorting through Josh, and there he was, ready to go. You kind of want that. It’s a little bit like a relief pitcher.” He added that because of limited action in the past two months, Howe “wanted to go, and he wanted to be out there. He battled and competed, and he made some real good saves.”
A junior with a 40-35-6 career record, Howe probably will start both games this weekend at Bemidji State, thrust between the pipes as Thorimbert, a sophomore, remains out with an upper-body injury. Thorimbert hasn’t practiced all week, and neither has captain Nick Dineen, who also suffered an upper-body injury against Denver. They could return Feb. 17-18 against Nebraska-Omaha, along with injured defenseman Eamonn McDermott.
Thorimbert (10-4-1) has posted a 7-3-1 mark with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage in his past 11 games. The past three games Howe (5-5-1) has started, he has allowed five goals in a Jan. 14 overtime loss to St. Cloud State, three goals in a Jan. 7 tie against No. 13 Cornell and six goals in a Dec. 9 defeat against Alaska-Anchorage.
But Howe stopped all 17 shots that he faced to spring No. 10 CC (15-9-2, 12-7-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) to the Gold Pan. Remember he has six career shutouts, as well as five postseason wins, including an upset of defending national champion Boston College last season in the NCAA Tournament. He has won when it has mattered, and CC perhaps needs a sweep to improve its 16th-place standing in the PairWise rankings. Plus, Howe isn’t distracted, turning down requests for interviews in the buildup to Bemidji.
“I feel confident in him,” Owens said, adding that freshman backup Courtney Lockwood will travel for the first time in his career. “Because of the experience he has, the number of games he has played. And he’s a competitor. Josh’s numbers and the rhythm he has been in would be pretty nice to have. But I have confidence in Joe.”
Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazettehockey. Google+: Brian Gomez. YouTube: Colorado College Hockey, Covered by The Gazette. For the CC homepage, visit www.gazette.com/sections/sports/cchockey. For the CC blog, visit http://cchockey.freedomblogging.com.
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About this blog …
Brian Gomez was born and raised in Tempe, Ariz. He graduated from Arizona State
University in 2005, then began working as a sportswriter for The Colorado
Springs Gazette. He's the Colorado College hockey beat writer and Olympics
reporter, having covered the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games.
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We were so waiting for this moment. Your chosen one played poorly on Saturday…..the two goals he let through weren’t great by any means. Joe jumped the wall, stood on his head, and blanked a strong team when they were throwing shot after shot at him. Simply put, he was the reason the Gold Pan is there. As lackadaisical as Thorimbert was on Saturday, starting with warmups, I have little doubt it would have gotten bad quickly.
But….But…he’s got these gaudy numbers….and wins…..give it up, Gomez. Howe has gotten some real duds out of his defense, and Thorimbert has benefitted–especially of late– by much improved D play.
I’ll take Joe when it matters.
Bruce, I agree that Thorimbert wasn’t his sharpest before he got hurt Saturday. I wasn’t watching either goalie, or any player for that matter, in warm-ups because games aren’t won or lost in warm-ups. Who cares about warm-ups? If Lockwood stopped every shot in warm-ups, would you start him in place of Thorimbert or Howe?
Based on how Thorimbert was playing in that game, you’re right, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do what Howe did. And no doubt, with the Gold Pan on the line, it was a very meaningful game. But just because Howe plays well for 34 minutes doesn’t mean you can discount everything that Thorimbert has done the past two months. The defense certainly has played better the past two series against Minnesota and Denver, and I think that has helped Thorimbert, but I think Thorimbert also has been doing a lot on his own. How many prime chances did Minnesota get in that series? And what about when the defense wasn’t playing well? Against Anchorage, Thorimbert gave up three goals and Howe let in six; against Cornell, Thorimbert gave up two and Howe gave up three; and against St. Cloud State, Thorimbert gave up one and Howe gave up five. Hockey is a game of momentum, and it’s also a game of numbers, and you can’t make a credible argument against Thorimbert’s numbers.
I’m not rooting against Howe. I’m not hoping that he fails. I simply believe that CC should play the goaltender that gives them the best chance to win right now. Not the best chance last season, when Howe was his old self. But the best chance right now, when Thorimbert is dominant and Howe is mediocre. If both goalies were healthy, I’d take Thorimbert over Howe, based on the way Thorimbert had been playing as a whole. Obviously, Thorimbert isn’t healthy, and until he gets healthy, the entire season pretty much rests on Howe’s shoulders, so I’m holding my breath.
Thorimbert is the better goalie that gives CC the best chance to win.
But I hope Howe proves me wrong this weekend, we need wins at Bemidji – Go Tigers!
[...] College’s defense is much improved of late while junior goalie Joe Howe will be the likely starter this Friday at Bemidji State. Backup Courtney Lockwood is making his first road trip. BSU coach Tom [...]
Losing Thorimbert for a stretch could be the decisive turning point in CC’s season. Goaltending is the single most important position this time of year–I’m not as confident in Howe as Owens is, but I know Joe is capable of elevating his game to a much higher level than we’ve seen thus far this year.
Bruce you couldn’t be more wrong and the numbers prove it.
Thorimbert: 10-4-1, 2.12 GAA and a .929 save percentage
Howe: 4-5-1, 3.33 GAA and a dismal .886 save percentage
I would be surprised if Joe Howe can win two in a row at Bemidji State.
I hope Howe surprises me!
Odds are one night, we’re going to need 5 goals to win. Go Jaden, Rylan, Krushelnyski, Civitarese and TBD __________.
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