Lohrman finds his niche as goalie

As seen in ThisWeek News
Thursday, February 9, 2006

DON DELCO
ThisWeek Staff Writer

By Paul Vernon/ThisWeek Cody Berkebile (right) of Pickerington/Reynoldsburg/Pataskala/Canal Winchester battles Patrick Patterson of the Northeast Storm last Sunday in the Chiller Easton.

AT A GLANCE: Below are recent results and coming schedules for the Pickerington/Reynoldsburg/Pataskala/Canal Winchester club hockey team: Last Friday -- Defeated Athens 3-1. Cody Berkebile, Taylor Walcutt and Nick Hess scored. Last Sunday -- Def. Northeast 13-2 Friday -- At Chiller at Easton vs. Newark. PRPC leads the season series 2-1, winning 3-0 on Dec. 8 and 4-2 on Dec. 16 and losing 6-5 on Jan. 19. Sunday -- At Chiller at Easton vs. Westerville. The teams tied at 5 on Nov. 6 and Westerville won 2-1 on Nov. 18. Of note: The Ice Prowlers are 13-10-3 overall and 13-6-3 with 29 points in the GCHSCHL.

One look at a goalie's equipment and Justin Lohrman had an epiphany -- hockey was his sport.

Lohrman tried other things as well. He spent six years playing soccer and one forgettable year playing baseball.

"I hated baseball because I kept getting hit in the face with baseballs," he said.

Now, Lohrman can spend hours being pelted in the face with hockey pucks. Hey, he's got a mask.

"I like it a lot more now," he said.

After logging only 42 minutes in goal for the Pickerington/Reynoldsburg/Pataskala/Canal Winchester club hockey team last season, Lohrman became the starter this season. Through 21 games, the junior from Pickerington North had logged 921 minutes and was 9-9-3 with an 82.8 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average.

Lohrman was able to start for the Prowlers because last year's goalie, Miles McGrew (1.64 GAA, 91.1 save percentage), moved to Michigan.

"We got the final word early last summer and it was tough news to take," coach Marty Laroche said. "Miles played a majority of the minutes a year before, but that's what high school hockey is all about. You have to find guys to replace departing players."

With McGrew leaving, PRPC was left with three inexperienced goalies in Lohrman and juniors Darren Coykendall and Nick Stypinski.

"Justin was the guy around last year and was Miles' backup at the end of the year," Laroche said. "He did a good job of learning from Miles, and Justin's work ethic in practice is second to none. He had a good offseason to get himself ready, and that's led him to get some confidence from the coaching staff."

In order to prepare for this season, Lohrman used his resources, including his 14-year-old brother. Apparently, Lohrman's fear of getting hit with flying objects ended along with his baseball career.

"I'd have my brother take shots at me against the garage over the summer," he said.

"He doesn't have a hard shot, but he's got good aim. I also played a lot of street hockey, went to hockey camps and did a lot of running and sprinting to keep up on my workouts."

Lohrman showed his coaches they made the right decision in the Ice Prowlers' first game, a 1-0 win over Olentangy on Oct. 30.

Before last Friday, Lohrman had four more shutout victories over Hilliard/Southwest (5-0 on Nov. 20), Northeast (15-0 on Dec. 4, 8-0 on Dec. 11) and Newark (3-0 on Dec. 8).

According to Laroche, the offseason workout regimen was beneficial.

"Conditioning is a big part from the goaltender perspective," Laroche said. "It's also repetition and facing as many shots as he can. He did a good job of that (last) summer, getting himself more confidence. When you haven't played that much, that's what it comes down to is a little bit of confidence and he's done a really good job from that standpoint."

Lohrman was inspired by NHL goalie Ron Tugnutt, who played with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2000-02.

"I always loved the way he played and the way he looked on the ice." Lohrman said.

Lohrman knows he has a ways to go before he can be compared to the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Tugnutt. First, he must bulk up. Lohrman is listed on the team's web site as being 5-5, 120, but he said he is up to 135.

"I want to have a stronger upper body," he said. "You don't want to be very bulky. You want to be big enough to where the puck hits you, your arms don't flail back with it, kind of like mine do.

"I'm going to work out as hard as I can in the offseason and get deeper into the fundamentals, and I'd like to get to 140."

Helping Lohrman adjust to being the full-time goalie was Prowlers assistant and goaltending coach Jay C. Catherine.

"He's probably the best goalie coach I've met yet," Lohrman said. "He's given me some great ideas, like ways to keep my body and keep myself balanced and how to move and see the play as it's building."

Even with the coaching, it was up to Lohrman to perform.

"In practices, the speed of the game is fast, but in games it's even faster," he said. "But it's fun. I like playing."