Pretorius Garners Best Goalie Award at 2018 IIHF Division III World Championships

27 May 2018 | Elmira Soaring Eagles

The South African goalie, along with Austrialian Casey Kubara, was the only player from NCAA Division III to play in a World Championship

The 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Division III World Championships came to a close last month and at the conclusion of the event, one member of the Elmira College men's ice hockey team took home one of the tournament's most coveted awards.

Third-year netminder Charl Pretorius'19 was bestowed with the tournament's Best Goalie Award, as selected by the IIHF Directorate, for his outstanding work between the pipes for his home country of South Africa. The award was his first as a senior member of the team, and his third all-time IIHF Best Goalie Award, after earning the accolade twice during his time in the junior ranks.

Pretorius registered 204:11 minutes in net for his country and finished the tournament with a 2-1-0 record to go along with 102 saves, a 91.89 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average. Undoubtedly his best performance of the competition came in a 4-2 win over Georgia, the eventual IIHF Division III champion, in which he stopped 50 of 52 shots on goal. Pretorius also produced one of the tournament's two shutout wins, which helped him earn South Africa's team MVP award as well.

With the conclusion of this year's tournament, Pretorius has played in 29 international contests throughout his ice hockey career. Of those 29 appearances, nine have taken place at the senior level, five at the U20 age group and 15 at the U18 level. Pretorius, who was the only active skater from the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) to compete in this year's World Championship, will head into his senior season with the Soaring Eagles as one of the most seasoned goalies on the international stage.

This past season, Pretorius helped the Purple and Gold produce a 15-10-3 overall record and make a run to the inaugural UCHC Tournament title game as the fifth seed, knocking off fourth-seeded Manhattanville College and second-seeded Stevenson University en route to the championship game appearance. Pretorius appeared in one game for EC during the 2017-18 campaign and turned away 21 shots in a home victory over King's College (Pa.) on November 4, 2017.