WATERFORD, MI – Eric Trunick was acquired a month ago from Cleveland to come in and push the other two Metro Jets’ goaltenders for playing time.
One month later and Trunick is firmly entrenched as Metro’s No. 1 goalie and has his team on a three-game winning streak, along with being in goal for all four of Metro’s wins this season. Trunick, however, isn’t about to hog all the credit for the last three wins. Instead, he’d rather talk about the overall team effort.
“I think the biggest key is that our team plays a whole 60 minutes focused on what we need to do,” said Trunick, a Commerce Township, Mich., native who turns 18 on Nov. 15. “We are not trying to take dumb penalties and we are cutting down on the amount of penalties we take, which also helps.
”I feel I have played a pretty good role in the last few wins, but so have plenty of other guys on the team. I think the team is very comfortable with me in the net, so that’s a plus. If we want to keep the wins coming, I’m going to have to step up my role even more when it comes to playing the better teams in the league.”
The goaltending position comes with enough pressure on its own, but in Trunick’s case, tending net for a team that hasn’t had a great deal of success the past few years brings an all-new set of pressures.
”On a game-to-game basis, there is a lot of pressure playing for this team,” said Trunick, who leads the CSHL with 261 saves, is seventh with a .913 save percentage and ninth with a 3.48 goals-against average. “Everybody knows right now that we’re not the team to come in and run over everybody, which means when we come to the rink to play, we’re going to war. There is a lot of extra pressure to the goalie especially on a team like this where every game matters.”
That said, pressure is something Trunick can deal with in leaning on teammates and coaches.
”The chemistry here is great,” said Trunick. “Everyone is getting along well. Even when a new kid arrives, no one is shy to intruduce themselves and make them feel a part of the team. We really have a great thing going here, from the staff to the players.”
When asked what his strengths and weaknesses are, Trunick didn’t hesitate to give the honest truth.
“A good strength I have is that I don’t let a lot of things bother me during a game, whether it’s a goal, trash talking or whatever. I have a wall that blocks everything out to play my game. A weakness I have is that sometimes I don’t stay focused on the puck for the whole 60 minutes, which can sometimes bite me in the butt because the other team could put one in and make it look like I was sleeping.”
Trunick played a bit last season for the Motor City Chiefs (now Michigan Mountain Cats) and played one game for the Jr. Lumberjacks this season before arriving in Waterford. With his third CSHL team in a year, Trunick wants to stay with the Jets for the long haul.
”I do hope Metro is the last team I play for in this league,” said the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Trunick. “I have learned and gained a lot from this league which I’m grateful for, but I think it’s time that I need to step up to the next level. I just hope I leave Metro on a good note with a winning season.
”My goals this season are to really get my numbers up so people have something to look back on and see what I can do. A tender to the NAHL would be nice, but as long as I make an NAHL team or anything else where the hockey is free and highly competitive, I’ll be happy.”
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
The Jets completed a two-game sweep of the Quad City Jr. Flames with a 5-4 win at Lakeland Arena Sunday afternoon and have now won three straight games.
Metro had topped Quad City
