Photo Courtesy Jenn Pierce/Calgary Hitmen
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Carter Casey squares up to a puck during the first period of a 6-2 win Wednesday at Calgary over the Hitmen.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Manners maketh the man – but a new mask for a goaltender? That just completes the look.
The Medicine Hat Tigers goaltenders got their new painted masks on Tuesday, allowing Jordan Switzer and Carter Casey to ditch the stark white masks for masks with personal designs.
“They turned out really good, I really like them, it feels good to be in a new piece of equipment, the new mask felt great,” Casey said.
Casey was the first to showcase his, making 26 saves with the new look in a 6-2 win at Calgary over the Hitmen. Did the mask help the 17-year-old between the pipes?
“I didn’t think about it too much, (goalie coach) Matt Wong commented about it after the game and he joked we don’t look like orphans anymore. He loves the mask and so do I.”
Beyond sporting his new mask, completing the look with the tiger-print pads and gloves, Wednesday’s win was another bounce-back opportunity for Casey to take advantage of. The Grand Rapids, Minn. product has answered a loss with a win in his next start.
On Nov. 8 he was in net for the Tigers’ 7-4 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings, allowing six goals on 20 shots. After 11 days between starts, he responded with the win against Calgary.
“I thought I played well, played confident, obviously the boys in front of me played really well and made my job pretty easy,” Casey said. “It was a good all around team win. I think we all felt good about it, so we’re all just trying to build off our own performances and as a team as well.”
Casey says he always tries to flush a loss as soon as he can to prepare for his next contest, shifting the focus from the game past to the one ahead. He says it’s about ensuring things don’t go on a run the bad way.
“It’s a lot of mental focus, a lot of just flipping the page and heading to the next one,” Casey said. “If you let the last game linger, that can turn into two, three or four games, so you have flush it and be ready for your next opportunity.”
In nine appearances this season, eight as the starter, Casey has a 4-3-2 record with an .890 save percentage and a 3.03 gaols against average. Looking at his own game, he says confidence is high.
“I feel like I’m getting better every day and that’s the biggest thing I’ve been working on with Wonger here, is just getting better every day and feeling confident in my process,” Casey said. “That’s a big thing, we’ve been process focused and not worried too much on the results end.”
It’s been a change of pace away from the game for Casey, coming from high school hockey in Minnesota. He played 20 games with Grand Rapids High School before joining the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, leading them to a USHL finals appearance. He says there is more thought process at the WHL level when it comes to preparing for games and working to get better.
“Last year was playing high school, which was good, it was fun obviously, but this year it takes a step up,” Casey said. “My process of getting better every day and my development, it all takes a step up.”
