By Tim Morris
Three things go through the mind of Ottawa Junior Senator goalie Francis Boisvert during a game.
“Concentrate, be calm, be confident,” he explained.
Those reminders have helped turn the 19-year-old into one of the top goaltenders in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL). Through October 17, the Junior Senator ranked fifth in goals against average allowing just 2.26 goals a contest. His save percentage is a lofty .919.
Boisvert’s sparkling play is the result of all the work he did in the off-season. After sharing the net duties last year, the native of Blainville, Québec, knew he was going to be the team’s No. 1 goalie in 2018-19 and he was going to be ready.
“I trained hard all summer,” he remarked. “It was a big season coming up for me and I took my summer training very seriously.”
It started in June with gym work through the month as Boisvert built up his lower body for flexibility. In July, he laced up his skates for the first time and took to the ice to work on cardio to get his skating legs back. In August, it was time for goalie camps where he went through skating drills and worked on the areas he was uncomfortable with, such as his stick work and controlling rebounds as well as staying on his feet longer when facing a shooter one-on-one.
“Shooters like to go top shelf and if you go down off your feet early that opens it up for them,” he remarked. “You have to stay on your feet and be patient and not bite on the first move. Being patient is the key.”
One of the drills that Boisvert did during the summer was designed to help him get back on his feet quicker after he’s dropped down to make a save. Recovery, he noted, is very important.
Boisvert uses the butterfly style in goal. However, he also looks at himself as an athletic goalie who is not committed to one style. He’ll make an athletic move to make a save. That prevents his play from being predictable.
Along with making saves as the last line of defense, communication with the defensemen is also part of a goalie’s job.
“It’s [communication] a big part of goaltending,” Boisvert said. “I try and be the extra player in the line-up. I let the defenders know what’s going on around them.
“It goes two-ways,” he added noting that when he’s out of the net retrieving a puck in the corner the OJS defensemen tell him where to make a play.
Like all goalies, Boisvert has his own superstitions and pre-game rituals. His superstitions are tapping the post three times before each period starts and always skating to the net on the right side.
For pre-game, he begins by playing soccer with his teammates to loosen up and remove anxiety. Forty-five minutes before game-time he starts getting into his own bubble, his own zone. In pre-game warm-ups, he takes as many shots as he can.
At 6-2, and 168 pounds, Boisvert has the size and athleticism to stand out in goal. The Junior Senator goalkeeper believes his glove-hand is his greatest strength.
“I’ve always been very comfortable catching the puck,” he said.
Homework is also a part of being a goalie. Boisvert studies game film to look for mistakes and things he has to work on for the next game. He also keeps an eye on the opposition, learning whether the shooters are righties or lefties and what their tendencies are so he can know what to anticipate.
Besides being a good skater, having great eye-hand co-ordination, flexibility, focus and quick reflexes, there’s one other thing a goalie must have to be successful.
“You have to have a short memory to be able to quickly forget a bad goal,” said the netminder, whose goal is to play Division I hockey in the future.
Boisvert had a head start as a goalie because his father Pierre was one himself.
“I wanted to do what my dad did,” said Boisvert, who also noted that his father provided some sage advice that the son has taken to heart. “He said, ‘have fun and make some saves,’” Boisvert said.
Boisvert has been having fun and making saves playing for a Junior Senators team that won the CCHL Bogart and Fred Page Cup championships last year.
Ottawa is looking to build on that success, but the Junior Senators are a different team this season. They lost 14 players from the championship squad and are breaking in nine rookies.
Ottawa was off to a slow start, winning only once in their first five games, but Boisvert was confident that once everyone learned the team’s defensive and offensive systems, all would be well. Well, he was right as the Junior Senators have went 8-2 since, having
won their last four games to move to 9-6.
