As the Guelph Storm prepares to host the Memorial Cup tournament later this season, one of their goalies is off to a perfect start between the pipes. Zach Jovanovski recorded two shutouts over his first two starts. “I just kind of go in there and do my job every night. And that’s the outcome that happened two nights in a row,” Jovanovski told CTV News. “But I have to give it to my team for playing well in front of me every night,” According to the OHL, he’s the only goalie who has started a season with back-to-back shutouts in OHL records dating back to 1997/1998. “The goalie coaches have done a really good job keeping him focused. And I would say his practice habits have changed this year,” Rob Davison, Guelph Storm’s associate coach, said. “It’s been great to see, he’s challenging himself throughout the entirety of the practice. I think they have a competition, him and Ben [Hrebik], between who can stop the most shots to start the practice, which is great to see. So, when you have competition between the two of them, it really can elevate,” The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick shares netminding duties with, Hrebik, who came over from playing with Barrie last season. “They bonded. They’re challenging each other. Similar to what you saw with [Linus] Ullmark and, in Boston a couple years ago, with [Jeremy] Swayman. So, it’s great to see. And it only makes us better as a team,” Davison said. The duo’s dedication is being cited as one of the reasons the Storm has been ranked the best team in the country right now, according to the Canadian Hockey League’s weekly top-10 rankings. “The organization made a lot of moves over the summer. So, you come in with these expectations,” Davison said. “We focus on the day-to-day and making sure when you have an older team, making sure they’re staying motivated and competing in practice, because a lot of times in the games, you don’t want them to take the foot off the gas. So, if we go easy in practice, then maybe that carries over to the game. Right now I think with an older team, they’ve really pushed each other and they’re keeping each other competitive,” Davison said. For now, the 19-year-old from Tecumseh said he isn’t really worried about keeping the two-game streak going. “No. Not overly. Just helps build the confidence. Game in and game out. So, it will help build it forward,” Jovanovski said. The Storm play again on Friday when they host the Owen Sound Attack and then head to Owen Sound the next day. While it’s not clear who’s going to be starting in net on Friday, Jovanovski said he just wants to perform well for his team.
