Mitch Goodman played on a Centaurus High School team in 2021-22 that came up a bit short in the standings.

The Erie native stayed positive throughout the season and was rewarded recently by signing an NA3HL tender with the Norwich Sea Captains, a team based in Norwich, Conn., for the 2022-23 season.

“After Jameson Bain (Longmont native and current Sea Captains player) convinced coach (Kevin) Cunningham to let me play in the 2021 Chowder Cup showcase and I started to look in to playing juniors as well as look into the team Coach Cunningham was creating in Norwich,” said Goodman. “After playing my final year of high school hockey, I was fortunate enough to fly out to Connecticut and practice with the team for a week and got to know everyone.

“Looking into junior hockey, I saw a good fit for myself in Norwich as well as the coaching staff and players being very supportive. Leaving home is a big step, but I’m glad I get to play hockey for my first year away.”

Last season with the Warriors, Goodman saw reason to believe that next season will not mirror the 2021-22 campaign.

“This last season with Centaurus was not full of wins but being a young team, the growth and camaraderie made me see a bright future for the younger kids,” Goodman said. “On a personal level, I worked not only with my team but did some private lessons with other kids that went to juniors, and this helped me improve and develop my skills.

“I also worked a lot on my skating skills as well as improving my game in general. This helped me prepare for the level junior hockey is played. College hockey is definitely a goal for me and being able to trust that Coach Cunningham is getting me ready for that is a big reason I wanted to play in Norwich.”

Back home, Goodman started his hockey career in Breckinridge with the Summit Lightning, saying, “this team was full of fun memories and made me want to continue to play.”

He then moved to the Boulder Bison before joining Centaurus.

“Boulder was again a fun team, but it wasn’t until I met coach Stephan Cunningham and played for Centaurus that I started to see hockey as a future and my coach definitely helped a lot with that,” Goodman said.

Going forward, Goodman wants to continue on his upward trajectory.

“Once I get to Connecticut, I want to see an improvement in my game and how I fit in as well as seeing where it brings me,” said Goodman. “I would love to be able to play NCAA hockey in college while completing a master’s degree.”

Photo/Edward Goodman

— Matt Mackinder

(May 6, 2022)