Goehring told Thome, who was battling for the starting goalie job, that he did not get it. He said he wasn’t the backup, either. Thome was going to start the season as the third-stringer.
It was an eye-opening moment for the Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick, but Thome went to work on his game.
By the end of the first month, he worked his way to backup.
By the end of the season, he was the No. 1 goalie on the best team in the country.
This season, no declarations have yet been made, but one thing is for certain: UND is going to need both Peter Thome and Adam Scheel, and both are preparing to play big minutes right from the start of the season.
In a normal college hockey season, coaches can pretty much roll with one goaltender. Since most teams play just twice a week, it’s a manageable workload for netminders.
Last season, eighteen of 60 college hockey programs -- nearly a third -- played a single goaltender for 90 percent or more of the team's minutes for the entire season. That's was the highest number of goalies to play 90 percent-plus since College Hockey Inc., began tracking the statistic in 2012.
Minnesota Duluth has started just one goalie for the last 115 games, a stretch dating back to October 2017.
But National Collegiate Hockey Conference coaches won’t be able to do that this season.
The league is opening up with all eight teams in the NCHC Pod in Omaha. Most teams will play 10 games in 20 days, a workload that won't be manageable for a single goaltender.
“First of all, we feel very blessed and fortunate to have the goaltenders we do have here,” Berry said. “If you look at our schedule, I believe we play four games in the first six nights. There’s a situation where guys are going to get their opportunity and they’re going to have to be ready.
“Last year, we had both goaltenders build a pretty good-sized body of work playing Adam in the first half and Peter in the second half. That’s a position of strength of ours. Hopefully we can use that starting in the bubble and in the Pod.”
Goehring has already talked about the situation with the goalies.
“KG mentioned it to us,” Thome said. “He said, ‘Hey, both of you guys are definitely going to play in the bubble.’ He wants to make sure we’re ready. It’s an odd situation. We’re approaching it in practice daily with that game mindset, so we’re ready when the puck drops.
“KG is pushing us to be better all the time, to keep us sharp. It’s been a long time between games. He’s pushing us to stay sharp and improve every day and be ready.”
The deep experience of both Thome and Scheel could be a big advantage for UND. Both of them have played more than 35 career games.
No other team in the league has two goalies with more than 30.
In fact, Denver is the only other team in the league whose backup has played more than 11 games.
Five of the eight teams have a backup with five or fewer games of experience. The Bulldogs don’t have anyone on the roster who has played a college minute.
“From a team perspective, having a 1-2 punch like we have. . . I think when you look around the league, I think a lot of teams have been one-man units,” Thome said. “It’s great to have goalie depth. Obviously, I want to play every game. Adam wants to play every game. Harrison (Feeney) wants to play every game. Accepting that reality and supporting each other and being ready for our opportunities is all we can do. Adam is going to do it. I’m going to do it. Harrison is going to do it.
“It’s all about the team's success. It’s about being able to chip in and contribute, and if you’re not playing, being the first guy in the pile celebrating.”
The first half of last season was the Scheel show. The netminder from Lakewood, Ohio, posted a 14-1-2 record with a .927 save percentage and a 1.56 goals-against average.
But after a few stumbles out of the gate in the second half, the door opened for Thome, who repeatedly turned in outstanding performances. He went 7-1-1 with a .937 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average during his nine starts.
Thome won at two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth, swept Denver and clinched the Penrose Cup outright with a win at Omaha.
But Thome didn’t necessarily end the season feeling thrilled -- not after how it all unexpectedly ended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“There were definitely positive feelings, but to be honest, those were overshadowed by the what-ifs, especially during the early part of quarantine and lockdown,” Thome said. “It was nice to have personal success, but the what-ifs of last year haunted me.”
Thome said he plans to prepare for this season the same way as the last one.
“I kind of came to terms with the fact that because I finished strong last year, that doesn’t mean anything,” Thome said. “You have to do it again. You have to be the same goalie again. You have to do it all year long. I kind of came to terms with the reality of it. I took a month or two off after the season, because I didn’t have access to facilities. Now, I’m ready to go. There is a lot of motivation.”
All of UND’s goaltenders better be ready to, because they’ll be needed.
St. Cloud State (93 games)
88 - David Hrenak, senior
5 - Jaxon Castor, sophomore
North Dakota (91 games)
52 - Adam Scheel, junior
37 - Peter Thome, senior
Denver (75 games)
48 - Corbin Kaczperski, senior (transfer)
27 - Magnus Chrona, sophomore
Omaha (39 games)
28 - Isaiah Saville, sophomore
11 - Austin Roden, sophomore
Western Michigan (34 games)
34 - Brandon Bussi, sophomore
Colorado College (29 games)
29 - Matt Vernon, sophomore
Miami (16 games)
11 - Ben Kraws
5 - Grant Valentine
Minnesota Duluth (0 games)
None
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Teams will need to use two goaltenders in NCHC Pod; could that benefit UND? - Grand Forks Herald
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