Former Penticton Vees goalie Nic Renyard was named the winner of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s top goaltender award, beating a field of five including current Vees goalie Hunter Miska. The CJHL made the announcement Friday. Renyard, who is committed to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen in Hockey East, won 30 of his 43 games with the Okotoks Oilers and posted a 2.19 goals against average with a .924 save percentage and five shutouts. Renyard’s efforts earned him the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s most valuable player and top goalie awards. The 20-year-old had a record-setting season with the Oilers with the lowest goals against average. The Victoria native joined the Oilers in September and started the season by going 12-0-1.
“We took a chance on Nic and made room to give him an opportunity to take over the #1 job in Okotoks – the rest is history,” wrote Oilers coach James Poole in a letter of reference for the national award.
Okotoks wasn’t the most skilled team in the AJHL, admitted Poole in a story on Renyard on the CJHL website, but with their goaltending cemented, there was no stopping them.
“We did the best we could with what we had due to a very good group of character kids, but Nic was the main reason why this team overachieved during the regular season. I’ve been coaching in the AJHL for five seasons and I’ve never seen a player have more of a positive impact on his team.”
Renyard played for the Vees in 2012-13 and posted a 10-6 record with one shut out, a 2.24 goals against average and .919 save percentage.