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02/15/2017 11:00 PMFollowing a short stint at Xavier for his freshman year, North Branford native John Lovelace returned to his hometown to attend high school last winter and instantly made an impact on the T-Birds’ boys’ ice hockey team. John played goalie throughout his youth hockey days and says he was ready to man the net by the time he arrived at North Branford.
“I think I’ve always been drawn to being that key aspect. Some kids don’t want that pressure and would want to be one of the five in front of me because there is always a scoreboard overhead that shows how many mistakes you’ve made,” says John. “If you play a good game and the score reflects off that, people appreciate how good you’ve played. Whether you play good or bad, people know about it, and I like that.”
As one who’s been playing goal since age five, John has had plenty of time to focus on both the fundamentals and finer points of the goalkeeper’s position. One is the biggest things he’s worked on is the mental aspect.
“There’s a lot of pressure put on you. When you’re losing, you feel it’s your fault the team is losing. Being confident and positive helps me play so much better,” says John, who employs a butterfly style in net. “I try to key in on what I need to do in the game for us to win. I play through my mind to ensure myself I’m in the game and that I’ll be ready.”
Stepping in as sophomore last season, John led North Branford to the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament title, as well as the Division II State Tournament championship game. Even though his T-Birds lost in the state final, John feels that his team’s ride through the tournaments was a great experience in his first year on the squad.
“Obviously, we had a great year last year and we had a great group of seniors,” says John, who also competes on North Branford’s golf team. “Everyone wanted to work and it piggy-backed to my performance. That drive brought us to [Ingalls Rink for the state final], but that was my favorite year of hockey, and it was an all-around great team effort to get there.”
T-Birds’ Head Coach Ralph Shaw was quite excited when John decided to come back home to North Branford.
“I taught John at the middle school and I know the kind of person that he is. When we got him back, I was ecstatic,” says Shaw. “He’s a young player and we threw him right into the fire. I was really impressed with his ability. He has good movement in the net, cuts angles, and blocks shots. To watch him as a sophomore to have that kind of tenacity to pick a team up in stepping into a big role, he did fantastic.”
John knows that it’s no easy task to be the guy in the crease. After all, goalies are often hung out to dry on breakaways or screened to the point where they have no idea where the shot is coming from. John’s approach is to not over-think it. Instead, he lets his instincts and reflexes lead the way to his next big save.
“I just try to do my best and try not to think too heavily about it. I rely on my experience in net to make the stop...It’s important to stay positive,” says John. “My coaches say it’s what you do on the next shot after you let a goal in. That’s what matters—how you rebound and recover after making a mistake.”