Not much separates Tri-City and Seattle goalies

As the regular season turns to playoffs in the Western Hockey League, there are story lines that come out of the woodwork that no one could make up.

In the case of the Tri-City Americans and Seattle Thunderbirds, whose first-round series begins Friday in Kent, the starting goalies share an uncommon first name, a hometown and a history that goes back to the beginning of their hockey careers.

Tri-City’s Rylan Parenteau will be opposite of Seattle’s Rylan Toth. They grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing against one another for years. Both players landed in the Eastern Conference at the start of their WHL careers, and both were traded to Western Conference teams at the start of the season. To top it off, both are overage goalies, which are not common in the league.

The only time the two have met in the playoffs before now, Parenteau’s Saskatoon Contacts beat Toth’s Battlefords North Stars when they were 16.

“We more so met playing against each other and developed a bond over the years,” Parenteau said. “We competed against each other in minor hockey growing up. Obviously, there are no friendships on the ice. It will be just like old times. I’m looking forward to playing against him.”

Toth is on board for another showdown.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Toth said of the past the two share. “We have always had good games against each other.”

Though Parenteau is an overage goalie, Tri-City coach Mike Williamson said you can’t put a price on experience.

“It’s too important a position not to be certain,” Williamson said. “We have three good guys here. They work hard and push each other. We feel fortunate to have the depth that we do in net. As a 20, it’s your last opportunity and you want to do as well as possible.”

Parenteau and Toth both feel fortunate to have jobs as overage goalies in the WHL.

“Obviously, to play in this league at all is an honor. You don’t ever want to take it for granted,” Parenteau said. “It’s always a special moment to play in the WHL, and for me personally, it has been an honor to play for the Americans. I really love being able to lead us here in the playoffs.”

Toth, who was acquired from Red Deer in September, said his time in the league has gone by quickly.

“Everyone says the years go by fast, but you don’t realize it until you experience it yourself,” Toth said. “It has been an up and down year, but it’s exciting to be a leader on the team and help the younger guys out. A lot of guys look up to you every game. It’s been nice to be able to teach Matt (Berlin) the tricks of the trade.”

Parenteau was acquired from Prince Albert in October to shore up the goaltending position while Evan Sarthou was on the mend with a lower-body injury. He has stopped a lot of pucks, helped mentor Beck Warm, and has added leadership to the team.

“He has proven his worth in a lot of different capacities,” Williamson said of Parenteau. “He’s played well at his position, which is what we expected. We heard about how good a leader he is and how good a kid he was. That element has been extremely evident. He’s a leader on our team, he works hard every day, he’s a great teammate and he treats the young guys and the old guys with the same approach and respect. He has fit in very well with our team.”

In 44 games this season, Parenteau is 26-15-1-0 with a 3.28 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. He has shared time in goal with Sarthou, who is 11-8-2-0 this season, and Warm (3-5-0-0).

“We expected both and he and Sarts to be prepared to play,” Williamson said of his goalies. “I think a huge strength of our team is the depth we have at that position, and the experience both he and Sarts have. They both have shown they can be top guys and give us a chance to win. There was a stretch there when we were winning seven in a row. Both guys were right at the top of their game and playing incredible. Even when we were getting outplayed some nights, we were getting chances to win and that gives your team a lot of confidence.”

Toth, who has shouldered the lion’s share of the workload in the Thunderbirds’ net this season, is 36-18-2-1 with a 2.75 GAA and a .902 save percentage. He is 5-2 against the Americans this season.

He also has valuable playoff experience with Red Deer, including four games at the 2016 Memorial Cup, where the Rebels finished 2-2.

“He has had a stellar career,” Parenteau said of his counterpart. “He’s played in a Memorial Cup. He’s definitely a good goalie, but I feel we are up to the task against. We are excited to play them.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Not much separates Tri-City and Seattle goalies."