April 2014 – Page 34 – North Platte Post Archive

Johansson To Play Professionally In Sweden

Posted on April 17, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – After spending his final year of junior eligibility with the Tri-City Storm, goaltender Jacob Johansson has decided to return to Sweden to pursue a professional career, signing a two-year deal with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The netminder, who originally hails from Stockholm, Sweden, appeared in 42 games for the Storm during the 2013-14 season. Johansson racked up over 2,000 minutes in between the pipes, seventh most in the league.

“I loved every part of my year in Kearney,” Johansson said. “I want to thank the organization for giving me the opportunity to represent the team and I want to thank the fans for giving us their full support throughout the year even when we didn’t play our best hockey.”

Johansson also recorded three shutouts among his 14 total wins, which was fourth best in the USHL. His 1,174 saves were fifth most among all goaltenders.

The six-foot, one-inch goalie is excited about his contract with a team in what is considered the top pro league in Sweden. But Johansson expects he’ll need to prove himself and will likely start out on a loan with a team in the second-best pro league in the country.

After a bout with mono kept the goaltender on the bench for the final weeks of the season, Johansson said he is healthy now and will begin offseason workouts in the coming weeks.

The Linköping organization is nothing new for Johansson, as he played for their junior team before coming to the USHL.

“I actually spoke with Linköping throughout most of the year since I played there last season,” Johansson said. “We actually have two players from the U.S. and there are a lot of players from other countries so I don’t think the difference is going to be too big.”

Johansson said that the year spent in the USHL will help him because of how many games he played.

“I got used to playing a lot of games,” Johansson said. “The media coverage was great and I loved interacting with our loyal fans.”

His final USHL statistics included an overall record of 14-22-3, with a goals against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .910.

“I want to thank my billet family (John and Robyn Schulthiess) for being amazing and providing me with everything I needed while in the U.S.,” Johansson said.

With the 2013-14 season in the books, Tri-City is now preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

Ethan Montalvo Inks Letter of Intent with Division I Texas State

Posted on April 17, 2014

North Platte – Sophomore Ethan Montalvo signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday afternoon on National Signing Day with the Texas State University Bobcats, a NCAA Division I school located in San Marcos, Texas.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be signed to a D1 school,” said Montalvo. “My dreams have come true and I am really excited for the next two years to compete at the highest level.”

Montalvo was named to the 2013-14 Honorable Mention All-American Team earlier this week, becoming 8th player in program history to be named an All-American.

Along with being named an All-American, Montalvo was named All-Region IX 1st Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team. As a freshman, Montalvo was All-Region IX 2nd Team, All-Region IX Tournament Team and All-NCCAC 1st Team.

Texas State University competes in the Sun Belt Conference where they finished the year 8-23 under first-year head coach Danny Kaspar.

“We are extremely excited to add someone the caliber of Ethan Montalvo to the Texas State Basketball family,” said assistant coach Talvin Hester. “We expect Ethan to make an immediate impact in our backcourt with his overall basketball skill set.”

“In addition, he brings a great attitude, high basketball IQ and a competitive edge to Bobcat Nation. He’s a winner. Ethan won in high school and at NPCC. We look forward to Ethan instilling some of that winning culture and attitude to our team next season.”

This season Montalvo led the Knights in scoring at 18.9 points per game and in steals at 2.2 per game while also contributing 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Montalvo finishes his career with 1,173 points to finish 5th All-Time and ties Chase Grabau, Ben Wilson and Aboubacar Casse for most games played in a Knights uniform at 68. Montalvo started every single game of his Knights career.

“We will miss Ethan Montalvo here in North Platte,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler “but we are very excited for him to continue his career at Texas State. The staff at Texas State has done a great job recruiting him and has made sure he knew he was their top priority at his position since September. We know that Ethan will have a very successful career as a Bobcat!”

Montalvo has been a part of the most successful two year stretch in program history as the Knights compiled a 57-11 record during his career, including a Region IX Championship in 2013 and National Tournament appearance. The 57 wins are the most in program history in a two year stretch and the 11 losses are the fewest. Montalvo has never known defeat at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium finishing a perfect 28-0 in two years, also a school record.

NPPD Crime Log (4/16-4/17)

Posted on April 17, 2014

Courtesy of the North Platte Police Department

04/16/2014