A coach stands in front of a group of journalists following a big victory for the team.
A reporter asks about the key to the team's success and the coach proceeds to give credit to his or her goaltender for a solid game between the pipes.
It may sound cliché and something you may have seen before on television, but being a goaltender is arguably the most important position and the hardest to play, which is why credit is given to netminders — frequently.
Looking deep into the Cape Breton goaltending market, it's evident the island's representation at elite level hockey is in good hands for now and in the future.
Starting at the under-18 major level, Jack Cashen and Andrew Burke are holding down the fort in goal for the Sydney Mitsubishi Rush, while Adam Tkacz and Jack Milner man the crease of the Cape Breton West Islanders.
Cashen, a Cape Breton Eagles draft pick, has played the past three seasons with the Rush and was primed to be the club's No. 1 goaltender heading into the 2021 Telus Cup, which was originally scheduled to be hosted by Sydney prior to COVID-19.
Surprisingly, the New Waterford native was never drafted by a Maritime Junior Hockey League team, but that has benefited the Rush this season as Cashen has a 3-1-0-0 record.
Burke is in his first year with Sydney after playing under-15 major with the Joneljim Cougars. His 2-5-0-0 record isn't truly indicative of his play and he's stopped 148 of 183 shots behind a young Rush team.
Meanwhile, the third-year Tkacz is finally getting his chance to be Cape Breton West's No. 1 netminder after serving as the team's backup to Eagles prospect Kenzie MacPhail, who's currently with the Miramichi Timberwolves of the MHL.
Tkacz has a 4-4-0-0 record with a 2.83 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage. He will be looked upon to lead the Islanders, a team with nine returning players, into the playoffs.
Milner is a 2005-born player and was one of the top goaltenders in the Nova Scotia Under-15 Major Hockey League last season where he was 12-5-0-0 with a 2.10 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage with the Antigonish-based Novas.
In his rookie campaign with the Islanders, Milner is 3-4-0-0 and has a 3.12 goals-against-average and a .888 save percentage. He'll be Cape Breton West's No. 1 netminder next season.
VETERAN EXPERIENCE
In the Nova Scotia Under-16 'AAA' Hockey League, both the Cape Breton Jets and Cabot Highlanders have a mix of veteran experience with Cole Goss in Port Hawkesbury and Lucas Fraser with the Membertou-based Jets.
Goss has been with the Highlanders the past two seasons while being an affiliate player with Cape Breton West. Meanwhile, Fraser was cut from the Rush in favour of Burke but has shown leadership with a rebuilding Jets roster.
Highlanders' Dan Morrison is in his rookie year with the club after spending last year with Cape Breton West Islanders under-15 'AA' program, where he shared goaltending duties with Anna MacNeil, now a member of the Cape Breton Lynx. Ben MacGillivray is the Jets' backup.
In the Maritime Major Under-18 Female Hockey League, Emma Swansburg and MacNeil share the crease for Lynx.
Swansburg has continued to improve her game over the past two years and through eight games this season has already tied her career-high in wins (4), a feat she will no doubt break this month. MacNeil is currently 3-4-1-0 with a 3.38 goals-against-average.
Swansburg and MacNeil could very well be the team's goaltending tandem for the 2021-22 season as well.
Finally, we can't forget about Owen Bresson and William Stonehouse with the Joneljim Cougars.
Bresson has 6-4-0-0 record with a 3.08 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. The Dominion product was a key factor in the Cougars surprising upset of the first-place Gulls of St. Margarets Bay last season in the playoffs, stopping 63 of 68 shots in two games.
Stonehouse is in his rookie season with the Cougars and has appeared in seven games, posting a 3-3-0-0 record with a 3.00 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage.
The Cougars posted a 2-1 win over the Pro Hockey Life Harbour Storm Saturday night in North Sydney and Stonehouse was huge in the win. He stopped 30 of 31 shots, which included shutting down an onslaught from the Storm in the third period.
Both Bresson and Stonehouse will likely see each other again in the years to come as members of the Rush, if they play under-18 major.
OFF-ISLAND
Speaking of Cape Breton goaltenders, River Denys' Colten Ellis has been the talk of the island's goaltending community as of late with his strong overage play with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Ellis, a 2017 Telus Cup-winning goaltender with Cape Breton West, is currently the QMJHL's all-time goals-against-average leader with a 2.38 average between Cape Breton, Rimouski and Charlottetown.
Former Eagle Ondrej Pavelec is second on the list with a 2.52 goals-against-average in two seasons in Sydney.
Last Friday, Ellis tied a QMJHL record for most consecutive wins to start a season (12). He set a Charlottetown Islanders franchise record for consecutive wins (8) earlier this season, a record previously held by Matthew Welsh (7).
Although he's drafted by the NHL's St. Louis Blues — and currently not signed by the team — he hasn't forgotten his Cape Breton roots. He displays the Cape Breton flag with pride on the back of his helmet.
So, the next time a coach is standing at the podium after a tough loss and a reporter asks a question about the team's goaltender — remember this column and listen to how the coach answers the question — you may or may not be surprised.
Jeremy Fraser covers sports for the Cape Breton Post. He welcomes column ideas, sports story suggestions or feedback about this week’s Sports Chat.
