Ex-Tigers goaltender earns NCHA Defensive Player of the Week honours

December 16, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

It’s a name many longtime Tigers’ fans find synonymous with success, success which has continued into the NCAA ranks.

Kevin Entmaa, who spent three seasons backstopping the Tigers between 2011 and 2014, was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association’s Defensive Player of the Week on Saturday for his outstanding efforts in a comeback win for Adrian College.

“I’m happy with where my game has been this year,” said Entmaa, who has been splitting netminding duties with the team’s other goalie. “The guys in front of me are doing a great job, letting me see the puck.”

That may be true, but he was forced to turn aside a career-high 33 shots in a 3 – 2 win over no.4 ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point last week, making 17 saves in the first period alone.

His stats on the year are among the top in NCAA DIII play, boasting a 4 – 0 record, 2.18 goals-against and .923 save percentage.

Those numbers, however, are nothing new to Entmaa. He joined the Tigers in 2011 after being cut from the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, taking the backup position behind Brett Sinclair as a 17-year old rookie.

The action he saw certainly did not go unnoticed, as the second-best save percentage in the OJHL earned the rookie 2nd-Team All-Prospect honours.

He split netminding duties with Sinclair the following season, continuing to put up stellar numbers and earning a spot on the North Division All-Star team at the Central Canada Cup Challenge in 2012. He took that experience and helped lead the Tigers to their first divisional title since 2007.

As the clear number-one, Entmaa was the top statistical goaltender in the OJHL for 2013-14, leading the Tigers to their second-straight division title with an impressive 2.16 goals-against and .925 save percentage. The accolades came pouring in during his final Junior A season, earning Goaltender of the Month twice, as well as Goaltender of the Year and runner-up for league MVP at the end of the season.

However, he struggled in the playoffs, paving the way for Andy Munroe to take over the number one goaltending spot en-route to the league championship.

Munroe kept the job heading into 2014-15, while Entmaa joined the Junior B Caledonia Corvairs before signing with Adrian College as a freshman this season.

He looks right at home in a black, yellow and white Bulldogs jersey, strikingly similar to that of the Tigers.

“I had a great few years in Aurora, met a lot of great people. I grew a lot as a player in Aurora.”