halifax 21st Sales' Start in Net Happens Sooner than Expected

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At the end of last week, it was expected that Halifax 21st backup goaltender Thadius Sales would see some time in the net, but that start came sooner than expected.

 

Sales found himself skating onto the ice for his very first VHLM game against the Mississauga Hounds. Facing 29 shots, it seems that nerves got to the rookie goaltender as 4 of those shots found themselves in the back of the net, giving Sales a save percentage of .862 for his first game. 

 

Sales gave up two goals in the first period, had a shutout second, and gave up two more in the third. Overall, 3 of the 4 goals against Halifax were delivered by the hands of the Hounds’ power play unit, who had 6 opportunities to score on the power play altogether.

 

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“I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit disappointed in my performance during that game. I let it too many goals, and it’s clear that I need to work on my confidence when we are down a man on the ice.”

 

While Halifax fans would have loved to have seen a more stellar performance from Sales during his first game, most fans seemed generally optimistic that this rookie goaltender could only get better from here.

 

A Second Game Win
Hearing the optimism that fans had, Sales seems to have been able to shake off the nerves and bring in his first VHLM win during his second game against the Mexico City Kings.

 

With a .867 save percentage, Sales stopped 26 of the 30 shots that he faced. While these are, again, not stellar statistics, those in front of Sales were able to pepper Kings’ goaltender Markus Emerson Jr. with enough shots to secure the 6-4 win.

 

Giving up two goals in both the first and second periods, Sales dominated the crease in the 3rd, stopping 14/14 shots on goal for a shutout period. 

 

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“The first two periods were rough, for sure, but during that second intermission coach really lit a fire under me. He told me to imagine every shot as an assassination attempt in the clink and that I needed to stop them from happening. So, that’s what I did. One shot was a dodged shiv, the other a beatdown in the showers. I wasn’t letting anything get passed me.”

 

After two games played Sales finds himself with a .864 SV% and 4.0 GAA, being among the lowest in the league. However, with only two games contributing to these stats, there’s no telling where Sales may find himself within those columns after a few more starts in the net.

 

Final Thoughts
It’s evident that Sales has a lot of work still to do. His unorthodox style of goaltending seemed to throw off players on the ice, but after catching on they were able to find the chinks in his armor.  While showing that he has the ability to stop a high number of shots, it may behoove Sales to learn a few lessons from more seasoned goaltenders and find a more orthodox approach to his goaltending.

Halifax 21st management had this to say about Sales:

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“The kid has the potential to be very good. He puts in the hours, works hard at every practice, and brings a positive attitude no matter what happens. He doesn’t seem to lose his cool, even after letting in a few pucks. We’ve got a lot of work to do with him, but that work will pay off once he finds his rhythm and grows in confidence.”

 

These next few games will be crucial for Sales, since the season is coming to a close. It is certain that Halifax 21st starting goaltender, Kevin Malone, will get most if not all of the playoff ice-time. Being the case, Sales only has a few more opportunities left to prove himself to Halifax fans, management, and teammates.

 

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642 Words
Week ending 10/25/2020