Oli The Goalie: Jonas Gets Turn Between The Pipes

Patience.

Oliver Jonas epitomizes that sentiment.

For the past three years, the senior goaltender has served as the official goaltending understudy to one of the better goaltenders in program history, J.R. Prestifilippo '00, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year. Now, Jonas finally gets his chance to emerge from "Presto's" shadow.

If past performance is any indication, Jonas is ready. In his limited action, Jonas has often performed on par and, at times, above the standards set by his predecessor. He sparkled in the Crimson's playoff run two years ago, delivering brilliant performances against offensive juggernaut RPI. In that same year, Jonas finished with better stats than Prestifilippo, securing a 3.22 GAA versus J.R.'s 3.56 GAA.

"There's a lot of things you can learn from watching a great goalie and from working together with one," Jonas says. "I think I learned a lot in the past three years just from watching [Prestifilippo] play."

If one had to design a goaltender to play for just one season, Jonas would provide the perfect model.

Born in Germany, Jonas's entry into hockey happened at a young age.

"My uncle was a pro hockey player at the time and he was the one who got me started [in the sport]," Jonas says. His uncle, Helmut de Raaf, starred on three German Olympic hockey teams.

Jonas arrived at Harvard after not only excelling at the prep school level in Minnesota, but also at an international level, competing as a member of the under-16, under-17 and under-18 German national teams.

Consequently, Jonas came to Cambridge not merely tabbed as the backup of then ECAC Rookie of the Year, Prestifilippo, but rather as one who would immediately see time between the pipes.

Starting in ten games as a freshman, Jonas acquired a respectable 5-5 record along with honorable mention for ECAC All-Rookie Team honors. In the next two years, Jonas played in 18 more games, compiling an impressive 3.39 GAA and a 7-5-1 record, including his playoff exploits at RPI, filling in for an injured Prestifilippo.

"Any experience you can have will be helpful," Jonas explains about his past successes. "But whatever happened two years ago, it's over with."

Undoubtedly after his RPI performance, Jonas would have been a starting goalie in numerous other college hockey programs. But though he challenged for the starting position at the beginning of last season, he could not overtake the incumbent.

"I think I could've played last year, but I think I'm more mentally prepared to play this year," Jonas says.

"Obviously I would have liked to play more, but I don't think the last three years were a waste of time," he adds.

Because of the ample ice time Jonas has seen in his first three seasons, the goaltending position should be a strength for the Crimson, relied upon to secure victories. His experience as goalie option 1A allowed Harvard to develop a tested, successful netminder for this season.

He is not your normal backup assuming starters duties, and Coach Mark Mazzoleni has confidence in Jonas and rests his team success upon the senior's shoulders.

"If we're going to be successful, Oliver has to carry the brunt of the load," Mazzoleni says.

Jonas brings with him a reputation for being a tough-minded goaltender with great reflexes and quickness, reacting especially well to shots near the crease.

When describing his tactics, Jonas says, "I try to do more of a positioning approach to goaltending."

"Oliver's competitive," Mazzoleni notes. "He's very smart in the net. He doesn't overanalyze things. He's got good quickness."

Jonas also seems to have the knack of stepping up for the big games. Besides his playoff exploits, Jonas also played superbly in the semifinals of the Beanpot Tournament as a freshman.

While Prestifilippo was sidelined with mononucleosis, Jonas filled in courageously and Harvard stunned No. 8 Boston College, 6-5 in overtime. It was the Eagles last loss that season until the NCAA finals.

Regardless of his ability, it takes a different mentality to play every day. Success in spot situations will not necessarily translate into consistent performances.

"Oliver just needs to get in there and play and knowing there's no J.R. Prestifilippo staring over his shoulder," Mazzoleni explains.

Mazzoleni's reliance upon his goalies this year may be further pressed by the state of his defensive core. Entering the season with just five healthy defensemen, with only two returning from last season, opponents will undoubtedly test the senior goaltender.

However, Jonas seems optimistic about the defensive corps in front of him.

"They may not have too much experience, aside from Pete [Capouch] and Tim [Stay], but they are very skilled and very talented," Jonas asserts. "I'm expecting them to play very well, very soon. I figure that won't happen right away, but I think we have a very talented core of defensemen."

Jonas also points out his confidence in the forwards' defensive instincts.

"What's underrated is the way the forwards play defense, and I think our forwards also play very good defense."

Primarily sharing the goaltending responsibilities of Jonas will be highly prized freshman recruit Will Crothers. Arriving from the same high school as sophomore forward Dominic Moore, Crothers brings with him experience from the Ontario Junior League, where he proved himself as the premier goaltender in the league for the Aurora Tigers.

"He's competitive," Mazzoleni says of the prospect. "We definitely recruited Will as the goaltender of the future here. He hasn't done anything to date to question that but he's [just] a freshman right now."

Labeled as the goalie of the future, Crothers will undoubtedly see some playing time during the year.

"Yes, we're going to play Will Crothers this year," Mazzoleni announced. "There's no doubt about that."

The coach seems highly content with his goaltending situation.

"We're a fortunate that [Crothers] has a senior to work with a watch and we don't have to thrust him in there right away and have him be the guy," Mazzoleni explains. "It's a great situation for Will because we can bring him along slowly and play him against the right teams and let him gain his confidence."

Sophomore Ben Weiss, who saw no competitive action last year but received praises from coaches about his work ethic, could also see time between the pipes this season.

"They're both very talented, hardworking goalies," Jonas concurs about his backups. "The future belongs to them no matter what."

With this last chance to shine as a collegiate hockey player, Jonas hopes to guide the Crimson to home-ice advantage during the postseason and playoff success. Harvard fans can rest their faith in this version of "Oli the Goalie" to lead them to triumph this season