Troy Passingham is getting his first crack at full-time number-one goaltender duties this fall.
Last season, Passingham took over the reins as the Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team’s starting goaltender midway through the year. The Mississauga, Ont., native is set to start in goal for the Rams when the team pays a visit to the York University Lions during its season opener on Thursday.
Taking over for former starting goalie Adam Courchaine, Passingham, who is entering his fourth season with the team, is embracing the opportunity to get the starting role to begin the 2014-15 campaign.
“(I’m) confident,” says Passingham. “Just knowing what I have to do and having that in my mind that I’m going to be the starter. I just have to carry this team and win as many games as I can for them.”
But Passingham won’t be alone in the crease this year. The Rams have two new goaltending additions — Jake Danson and Knick Dawe come in as freshmen support for the fourth-year netminder.
“We all sit together in the room and on a few road trips we’ve just talked together,” says Passingham. “They’re young, they’re just going to get better and better. They’re just going to get more used to the league and I’ll be right there to help them if they have any questions.”
Last season, Passingham’s 2.95 goals against average and 0.915 save percentage were both career highs.
He has steadily improved his statistics every year since he joined the Rams three seasons ago.
And even though he’s aware of his progress, he says he isn’t ready to stop growing because of it.
“Honestly, I feel like I had one of my best years last year and this year I just want to improve on that, just keeping getting better. I got a good goalie coach, good coaches — I just want to go out there and get better.”
Patrick completed his Masters of Journalism at Ryerson University in 2015.