Wheat Kings U18 AAA puck stoppers Matt Michta, Burke Hood look forward to lobster

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This article was published 17/04/2024 (765 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From stopping pucks, to eating copious amounts of lobster when given a chance, Wheat Kings U18 AAA goalie Matt Michta will be enjoying his first visit to Nova Scotia.

Michta and his goaltending partner Burke Hood will be on the national stage for the Telus Cup U18 AAA championship being hosted on Cape Breton Island, playing their games at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre, which is a six-minute drive south from Sydney, N.S.

Membertou is an urban and progressive Mik’maq community playing host to the seven-day tournament starting on Monday, with the Wheat Kings facing the Quebec representative Cantonniers de Magog at 1 p.m. CDT.

“My mom and I have talked about lobster on the East Coast … she told me if I’m out at a restaurant I should get my hands on lobster,” he said. “I’ll make sure I’ll eat as much lobster as I can when I am out there and we’re not playing.”

Michta and Hood are the goalies coach Travis Mealy will be counting on to keep the Wheat Kings’ net puck-free. He’s counted on his tandem during the regular season, with each playing 50-50 between the pipes.

The 17-year-old Grade 11 student at Massey said his team’s loss, with him in net, to Thunder Bay at the Telus Cup western regionals was a wakeup for the team, and their focus was 100 per cent facing the Saskatoon Blazers in their 1-0 overtime victory.

“I think our team needed to be humbled, and that was the game,” he said. “We were angry with ourselves, as we did not play our game. As a team, we saw how important it is to show up at the start of a game, something we’ve done all season.”

It was love at first sight when Michta discovered goalie pads and a blocker in his second year of novice hockey. He’s grown since then, now six-foot-two after a growth sport from his previous season when he was five-foot-eight.

“That was tough on me with my growth skyrocketed,” he recalled. “I had to adjust to my growing body in how I played … to think I grew a few inches.”

Moving up from U15 AAA to U17, and finally making the U18 AAA team, Michta did see action in eight games last season after being called up to fill in for injuries.

“Watching game film helps me be ready for the game, to know what players like to do when it comes to shooting, or when they pass to set up a shot. It’s better to put the work in advance … if there’s a player who likes to shoot low glove, then I will know how to defend him.”– Matt Michta

“It was a big jump for sure, and a lot different from what I was seeing at U17,” he said.

During the regular season, Michta posted a 22-0-0 record, two shutouts, a .930 save percentage and a 1.73 goals-against average (GAA). In the playoffs, he was 4-0, with a 1.75 GAA and .927 save percentage. He was 1-1 at western regionals, with a .900 save percentage and 2.52 GAA.

During the regular season, a stingy defence and potent offence saw plenty of games with Michta facing few shots. He’d prefer more shots of course, but knows he had to be ready when the opposition closed in on his net.

“Sure, I’d like see more shots … it’s hard to stay engaged, so as the game is played at the other end of the ice I will do commentary from my [crease] to keep myself in the game,” he said with a chuckle. “When I was playing U17 I’d see 35-plus shots, but in U18 it might be 12-plus shots. If I see 30 shots, that’s a treat for me.”

Michta considers himself a relaxed goalie, who does not get too excited.

“It’s like the calm before the storm when the other team is pushing in our defensive zone. I’m ready for it. I know my D-men will be there for me, too, as they have been all season.”

During warmup, while kneeling at centre ice and looking towards the opposing goaltender, Michta does a short prayer. He also carries his late great-grandmother’s memory with him for every game, from wearing a special necklace he leaves in his dressing room stall before playing, to placing her name, Marion, on his stick in pink.

“She’s very special to me, so she’s with me when I play,” he said of the relationship he has with his great-grandmother.

Drafted by the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Swan Valley Stampeders in the sixth round, 81st overall, Michta will see what happens this fall when it comes to where he’ll be playing in the 2024-25 season. Right now, he’s focused on his trip to Nova Scotia and helping his team earn another Telus Cup banner to hang at J&G Homes Arena.

While on the East Coast, he will make sure to watch as much video on each of the teams the Wheat Kings face. He’s a junky when it comes to video and relishes sitting down with coaches and teammates and going over team tendencies.

“It’s part of my preparation,” he said. “I especially like to watch a team’s power play, to see what players like to do. We did this with the Blazers before the overtime win, and knowing what they like to do shooting on net, we held them to 0-for-7 on the PP.

“Watching game film helps me be ready for the game, to know what players like to do when it comes to shooting, or when they pass to set up a shot. It’s better to put the work in advance … if there’s a player who likes to shoot low glove, then I will know how to defend him.”

Despite their impeccable won-loss record, Michta said his team must bring their A-game to Nova Scotia.

“We get along, which is important. We’re supportive of each other no matter who is in net. That’s important to have a positive relationship with your goalie partner. You learn from each other.”– Burke Hood

“We have to play like we have all season … fire on all cylinders and take the game to our opponents. If we do, then we will have success.”

Hood agrees with his teammate when it comes to stopping pucks, and putting up a ‘W’ after 60 minutes of hockey.

“Our loss to Thunder Bay really opened our eyes … we need to be ready from that opening faceoff, not wait until the other team has gone up on us,” he said.

Hood also is ready for any overtime situations if he’s between the pipes – he won the 3-2 and 1-0 games in overtime facing the Winnipeg Wild in the league finals, and the western regional championship game.

Hood does not get rattled after being scored on, and if he does, just shrugs it off.

“I’m just in the flow of the game … I let things come to me,” he explained. “I don’t worry about the little things in a game. I play relaxed.”

This relaxed puck-stopper must be doing something right when you look at his 2023-24 statistics: regular season posted a 21-0-1 record, four shutouts, 1.99 GAA and a .923 save percentage. In the playoffs, he was 5-0, with a 1.39 GAA and .944 goals against average. He was 2-0 at western regionals, sporting a 0.50 GAA and .944 save percentage.

Also in Grade 11 at Massey, 17-year-old Hood played at the Winnipeg-based Rink Academy after playing out of Manitoba’s capital from Grades 8 to 10, including his bantam AAA seasons.

He’s a draft pick of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants. He’s attended two WHL camps, and plans to make the team this fall based on the goaltending situation in British Columbia.

“I plan to be there to make the team,” he offered. “I believe in my skills and can make the team, not I just have to prove it at my third camp.”

Hood has size, which WHL coaches like, when he fills the net standing six-foot-four, and weighing 200 pounds.

“I’m a hybrid goalie … I play on my feet, but when facing shots will feel the ice [down in butterfly],” he said, “My strength is my movement. I know I struggled when I grew so fast, having to adapt to my body.”

But all is good now, and the Wheat Kings have benefited from his confidence and puck-stopping skills during the past season. He’s especially astute playing the puck, another skill he uses to help his D-men.

“If a goalie can play the puck then it’s another way to clear the puck out of your zone,” he said.

With his father being a goaltender, it was only natural Hood would follow in his skates.

“I think dad being a goalie wore off on me, so that’s the position I wanted to play when I started playing hockey.”

Hood said his relationship with Michta has been beneficial to each other.

“We get along, which is important,” he said. “We’re supportive of each other no matter who is in net. That’s important to have a positive relationship with your goalie partner. You learn from each other.”

Like Michta, Hood is also looking forward to trying lobster while in Nova Scotia.

But he’s equally focused on finishing this season with a 62-1-1 record, which would mean the Wheat Kings have won another Telus Cup banner during the gold-medal contest being televised by TSN on April 28.

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