NEWS

The OJHL announced today that Aurora Tigers netminder Kevin Entmaa (photo credit - Brian Watts/OJHL Images) has been named the Gongshow Gear Goaltender-of-the-Month after posting a 5-1-0 record with two shutouts throughout the month of December.  

After finishing as the runner-up for the monthly honour in November, Entmaa continued his stellar play into December, helping the Tigers become not only one of the top teams in the North-East Conference, but the entire OJHL.  He would string together a 10 game winning streak dating back to November 9 before finally falling to Trenton in mid-December.  Entmaa's five victories included back-to-back shutouts over Georgetown and Burlington, adding to his league-leading total of five, and a shutout streak of 129:42.  Perhaps most impressive was a 38 save relief performance that saw the Tigers down the top-ranked Kingston Voyageurs 5-4 in a shootout.  Along with leading the OJHL in shutouts, Entmaa also ranks first with a 2.05 goals against average, second with 19 wins and third with a .931 save percentage.

"I am very honoured to receive this award," said the Tigers' netminder.  "The Tigers have had an incredible last couple of months and I believe that this award is a reflection of the performance of the entire team.  I’d like to thank James Richmond and the Aurora Tigers organization for their support and also for the opportunities that they have given me in the past couple years."

Denny Dubblestyne of the Trenton Golden Hawks was runner-up to Entmaa as the OJHL Goaltender-of-the-Month.  Dubblestyne posted a 5-2-0 record in December with a 1.98 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Born on June 7, 1994 in Milton, Ontario, Kevin Entmaa came by his sporting genes honestly with his grandfather, Kalja, an accomplished soccer player, and his father, Raimond, a swimmer.  The youngster, however, would take to the game of hockey and quickly worked his way up the ranks, joining the Halton Hurricanes 'AAA' organization, where he would lead them to an OMHA Atom 'AAA' Championship in 2004-05.

Entmaa would later join the Oakville Rangers for his minor midget and midget seasons from 2009-11.  While in Oakville, he would participate in the prestigious OHL Cup tournament in 2009-10 and then win his second OMHA title in 2010-11, leading the Rangers to a 5-1 victory over Whitby in the championship game while earning MVP honours for his efforts.  That season Entmaa also got his first taste of junior action, getting the call to play a single game for the Oakville Blades.

With his stock on the rise, Entmaa would attend the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds training camp in the Fall of 2011, but would ultimately join the Aurora Tigers after being cut from camp.  The 17-year old rookie would back-up teammate Brett Sinclair and make the most of his first junior opportunity, posting a 12-3-1 record with one shutout, a 2.28 goals against average (sixth best in the OJHL) and .930 save percentage (second best in the OJHL).  His efforts earned the young star OJHL 2nd Team All-Prospect honours. 

Entering the 2012-13 season, Entmaa had established himself as a consistent performer in the OJHL and would ultimately split the netminding duties with Sinclair.  His continued stellar play earned the backstop an invite to the Team Canada East Final Selection Camp, as well as a spot on the North Division All-Star Team that would compete at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge that was held in Wellington, Ontario.  He parlayed those experiences into another tremendous season, finishing the year with the league's eighth best goals against average of 2.52, while helping the Tigers to their first regular season Divisional title since 2007.

This season as the club's clear number one starter, Entmaa has more than carried the load for his team and has them sitting well positioned to capture a second consecutive Division title, while fighting for the Conference and overall League titles as well.