DiPietro getting start in goal
Workhorse goaltender to make Game 1 start vs. Knights despite being only 17
There is no question in net for the Windsor Spitfires this season.
A year ago, the Spitfires opened the playoffs with Mario Culina as the starter, but by the end of the first-round series it was Mikey DiPietro in goal.
When the club hits the ice at Budweiser Gardens on Friday, it will be DiPietro in net against the London Knights as he has clearly established himself as the No. 1 goalie. Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series is at 7:30 p.m.
“Mikey will be starting,” Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson said. “I think he’s done a great job.”
DiPietro is the first goalie to appear in 50 games for the Spitfires since Jaroslav Pavelka in 2012-13 and the first to win 30 games since Troy Passingham in 2009-10.
His 2.35 goals-against average was second in the league and tied the club record set by Andrew Engelage in 2008-09. He was also third in the league with a .917 save percentage while his six shutouts tied for the league lead and also set a modern-era club record.
“I don’t really like to look at my stats until the end of the year, but at the end of the day stats are stats,” said DiPietro, who is eligible for June’s NHL Draft. “It’s nice to see my stats where they are and it’s obviously a big year personally for me and I want to do well, but now playoff time is kind of different.
“Now, it’s all about winning and winning four games and getting focused on the series.”
But the 17-year-old DiPietro getting the start in goal for the Spitfires come playoff time is a bit of a rarity in the league where teams often look for more experience.
“It’s not every day a team does this and gives a 17-year-old that much confidence to trust them with the team, let alone a Memorial Cup team,” DiPietro said. “I think everyone else is worrying, so I have enough people worry that I don’t have to worry. I know what I’m capable of and I know what I can do.
“As a person, I’m confident in myself and I know what I can do and my abilities and I’m just excited and looking forward to the opportunity and hopefully, I can take full advantage of it.”
That he’s clearly established himself as the No. 1 option in net for the Spitfires so soon is not surprising. General manager Warren Rychel even alluded to that possibility when he made the Amherstburg native the first pick in the second round of the 2015 OHL Draft.
After posting the top rookie average in the league a year ago, he’s only continued to get better.
“I think every aspect of me has changed and gotten better,” DiPietro said. “Whether it be my play on the ice, as much as my puckplaying ability, my confidence out there has improved. My maturity level and understanding how not every game is going to go your way. I’ve had some weird bounces throughout the season and just the ability for me not to let it affect me or shake me.
“Obviously, there are still a lot of things I have to work on and get better at and building on those things, but I think, in every possible way, I’ve matured and improved.”
And DiPietro will need to be at his best because he knows London starter Tyler Parsons will be at his best and has a proven track record.
Recently signed by the Calgary
Flames, the 19-year-old Parsons backstopped the Knights to a Memorial Cup last year and the U.S. to the gold medal at this year’s world junior hockey championship.
“He’s a very skilled goaltender,” DiPietro said of Parsons. “He has two years on me, he moves very well and is a goalie I look up to and his playing style.
“I think, as a goaltender, you measure yourself not only against him, but other top goalies in the league and in other leagues, too. You always want to be the best and that’s what you strive for and I do measure myself up against him because he is two years older, so he has experience and wisdom, but he’s another guy in my way.”
And for DiPietro, all that matters is winning games and helping to move the team forward.
“I think that’s another thing that’s changed about me,” DiPietro said. “Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. It’s not just me, it’s the team, the city, winning ’s the most important thing and I’m a person that hates to lose.
“Last year (losing in the first round of the playoffs) left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth and now, this year, we want to rewrite it and hopefully, make a long playoff run.”