Matus Trnka named 2022 NHSL Goalie of the Year

Brewers starting goalie Matus Trnka has been named the NHSL’s ‘Goalie of the Year’.

All NHSL awards are given based on performance in the regular season. There will be awards for Highest Points Scorer (Xander Wardlaw), Best Defenseman, MVP and the NHSL First-Team All Star.

The goalie award was one of the hardest to give out because all three goaltenders had remarkably similar seasons.

Here’s a look at the final numbers when it comes to Save % and Goals Against Average.

SAVE PERCENTAGE

1. Glen Forbes White (Stars) - .879
2. Matus Trnka (Brewers) - .876
3. Jeremy Friederich (Xtreme) - .866

GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE

1. Jeremy Friederich – 4.71
2. Matus Trnka – 4.86
3. Glen Forbes White – 5.00

It is not an easy league to be a goaltender in. The offense is high paced and defensive depth is still developing in our league. All three goalies had games where they stood on their head and were the reason their team won games. All three goalies had stretches they would love to have back.

Trnka had a couple standout moments, especially when his team needed him the most. Down the whole game (until the very last shot), Trnka made 38 saves in the first Game of the NHSL season. It was a 4-3 OT win for the Brewers. He held the team in it.

Later in the year the Brewers, and Trnka, were down 7-0 in a game vs the Stars. Yes – 7-0 is not a flattering result for any goalie – however Trnka turned on a remarkable second half of the game and led the team back to an incredible 8-7 victory. Even after the game Brewers leader Steve Best gave all the credit to Trnka.

He also had the best win % of all NHSL starters, going 4-2 with a 66% win rate.

Trnka was the #2 pick in the draft and just 17-years-old.

All goalies had very similar seasons but Matus Trnka takes the edge.

Congrats on your award!

Matus Trnka and the Port Adelaide Brewers are in action on Friday 4 March in Game 2 of the NHSL Finals Series. The Brewers lead the Xtreme 1-0. Get your tickets at bit.ly/NHSLTickets