As the Grand Valley State University Division II hockey club enters postseason play, goalies Josh Lavigne and Scott Tiefenthal are gearing up for the challenging games to come and looking back at their season thus far.

“We’ve played well this season,” said Lavigne, who has saved 482 of 530 shots on his net for a .909 save percentage. “The winning streak was great, but it hurt us not to falter so that we can learn from our mistakes and stay grounded. Lately, we’ve had a bit of a struggle, but it woke us up so we can improve in practice.

As a senior, Lavigne has been a constant asset to the team during his four years playing for the Lakers (27-5-1), but since being drafted from the Division III team in early January, Tiefenthal has been seeing more time in net.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a passing of the torch, it’s just a way for both us to improve through competition,” said Tiefenthal, who has saved 167 of 183 shots on his DII net this year, good for .912 save percentage. “We want to stay sharp for the playoffs, and we push each other on the ice so that we are ready. (Lavigne) has a lot of experience and is always really helpful when I have questions.”

While both Lavigne and Tiefenthal enjoy their time as starters, a shared desire to improve and to lead the Lakers to victory prevents ambition from getting in the way.

“It is nice to see both goalies not getting mad if the other one plays on a particular night,” said junior forward Chad Wilhelm. “Josh has played exceptionally well throughout the season and always keeps us in games and battles from start to finish. Scott is also a technically sound goaltender and always puts himself in a good position to see the shots. It’s nice knowing that we can have two solid goalies down the stretch and we don’t worry if one gets hurt or has a bad game because we know the other goalie is up for the challenge.”

Along with freshman goalie Doug Chidester, who has primarily supports the Lakers from the bench because of his underclassmen status, Lavigne and Tiefenthal are ready at a moment’s notice to hit the ice and defend their net.

“Coach Forbes often doesn’t tell us who is going to play until just before the start of the game,” Tiefenthal said. “During this time of the season, we approach every game with the mentality that we are playing. You never know what can happen during the game, so we need to be prepared even if we don’t start.”

The Lakers will host the Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL) Tournament during the first weekend of March before heading to Nationals. The Laker goalies are confident in both their ability and the team’s ability to perform well in what will surely be some of the most difficult games of their season so far.

“I’ve always been excited for Nationals,” Lavigne said. “That’s what you work for all year; it’s a time to see what you can do under pressure when it really matters. We need to get back to playing hockey the way we’re used to playing it, making easy plays and shooting the puck to crash the net, I think that’s where we have the most success.”

jvanzytveld@

lanthorn.com