By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com
Minot, ND – As the Minotauros seventh season draws near it is time to start meeting the players who hope to head to the NAHL Showcase after training camp. Camp opened September 3rd, the preseason is done, and the regular season starts at 4:00 p.m. against the Shreveport Mudbugs at the NAHL Showcase. We continue meeting the team with goaltender Jacob Sibell.
Sibell comes in as the Tauros youngest goalie but through camp has shown himself to be mature beyond his years. A 2000 birth-year goaltender Sibell posted strong numbers for the Omaha Lancers 18U team last season with a 0.78 Goals Against Average and .952 Save Percentage in the NAPHL. Sibell said he models his game after “Darcy Kuemper as he stays calm in the net and only scrambles when he needs to.”
Tauros Assistant Coach Wyatt Waselenchuk who works with the goaltenders has been impressed but Sibell thus far, “Jacob is a big goaltender that takes up a lot of the net. His skating is very good for a bigger goaltender and his positioning is great. He has been solid for us throughout the preseason and we have been very impressed by his play, especially for his young age.”
Tauros Head Coach and General Manager Marty Murray was of a similar mind, “for a young goalie he is very poised and technically sound.” Murray added that Sibell is “very mature, especially for a 2000 birth-year.”
That maturity was on display when Sibell was asked about goals for the season. Sibell of course mentioned winning the Robertson Cup and developing as a player but he also said he intends to, “along with helping out in the community as much as I can, to give thanks for such a great place to play.”
While he is not a native North Dakotan, he is not unfamiliar with Minot adding that his father “laid some flooring for a couple of buildings in the Air Force Base here in Minot.” The younger Sibell gets to work for real for the Tauros this week at the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, MN.
Watch or listen as the Minotauros strive to defend their 2016 NAHL Showcase Championship starting Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. against the Shreveport Mudbugs. The game can be heard for free by clicking the “Listen Live” tab atop this page, on AM 1390 KRRZ in Minot, or you can watch pay-per-view video on www.hockeytv.com. Come back tomorrow when we will meet defenseman Jordan Strand.