Often times mental toughness is every bit as important for a goaltender as physical skills.

According to Gardiner Area High coach Sam Moore, that intellectual acuity is what separated Tigers goalie Michael Poirier from the rest this past season.

“He’s really mentally strong, which is what a goalie needs to be,” Moore said. “He loves the game but half the time you couldn’t tell if he was happy or mad because that’s the way he puts things out.”

Poirier’s statistics this season back up Moore’s claims. The junior goalie played all 956 minutes for the Tigers, posting a .914 save percentage, 1.98 goals allowed average and five shutouts on 489 shots on goal.

He was also named the Class B South Goalie of the Year by the conference’s coaches. For his efforts, Poirier has been named the 2015-16 Kennebec Journal Hockey Player of the Year. It is the second consecutive season Poirier has garnered the award. Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale’s Riley Boivin and Cam Wilson were also considered.

“(Poirier) was the heart and soul really. When it came to attitude you couldn’t find a better one,” Moore said. “He’s always trying to pick his teammates up and as far as he goes, he’s just rock solid. He didn’t let anything bother him.

“He always played with the same intensity and was just a great role model. If a goalie could be a captain he would be one. I always told him just because you don’t wear a ‘C’ that doesn’t mean you’re not a leader.”

Poirier said the change in how he reacted to goals allowed came midway through his sophomore season at the urging of former Gardiner coach Jeff Ross. The junior goalie brought that advice into this season and it clearly paid off.

“I just think to myself not to let my emotions get to me and keep going strong,” Poirier said.

Though he was not the only reason, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which the Tigers would have enjoyed the resurgence that they did without Poirier between the pipes. Gardiner went 13-4-1 in Class B South during the regular season and locked up the No. 2 seed to secure its first playoff berth in seven years. The Tigers knocked off Gorham and Cape Elizabeth 4-0 and 5-4, respectively, before falling to No. 1 Yarmouth 5-0 in the regional final.

“Michael definitely kept us in a lot of games,” Moore said. “We started out a lot of games slow where he was definitely the difference.”

Next winter Poirier — who plays lacrosse in the spring — and the Tigers could be in store for even greater success. The Tigers only lose seniors Logan Peacock and Reid Cotnoir to graduation.

“I feel like we can do something with the program next year and set some standards for the years to come,” Poirier said. “Logan and Reid leave pretty big shoes to fill, but we have some of the (rising) freshmen that didn’t play hockey and are going to step up and some of the freshman (from this past season) will step up.”

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley

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