Australian hockey star Matt Ezzy makes the cut

International champion goaltender earns a training contract with the Texas Brahmas

24-year-old goaltender Matt Ezzy is one of three prospects signed by the Texas Brahmas at the conclusion of the second annual "Making the Cut" tryout camp.

Ezzy grew up in Lismore, in the northern part of New South Wales. The town had no hockey arena but it did have a roller rink. He began playing roller hockey and became a goalie for the Australian under-16 roller hockey team.

Ezzy later entered men's AAA ice hockey with the Gold Coast Grizzlys, playing in a five-team league. He gained international experience, playing for the Australian youth team in South Korea at the Asia-Pacific championships, where he was voted best goalie.

Ezzy attended a goalie school in Ottawa. From there, he won a spot on the Tier 2 junior A Smiths Falls team in Eastern Ontario. He next played for the London (Ontario) Nationals with whom he went to the Western Junior B Hockey League championship round in 2003.

Ezzy played the last five seasons with the Newcastle North Stars in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) and has won the Australian Championship Goodall Cup three times. First awarded in 1910, the Goodall Cup is hockey's third-oldest prize still in existence. Only the NHL's Stanley Cup (1893) and Canada's Allan Cup (1909) are older.

In 2005 the North Stars defeated the Adelaide Avalanche 3-1 in the AIHL Final played at their home rink in Warners Bay, winning their second Goodall Cup since entering the league in 2002. Then in 2006, they defeated the Avalanche 3-0 to win their third Goodall Cup. Ezzy stopped 23 of 23 shots in that game. After losing in the final in the 2007 season, Ezzy and the North Stars defeated the Western Sydney Ice Dogs 4-1 to win another Goodall Cup, the teams' fourth in six years.

Ezzy was voted "Sportsperson of the Year" by the Lake Macquarie City Council for his 2005 season in February 2006, and was a finalist for the same award in 2007.

The six-foot-three, 210-pound Ezzy backstopped the Australian Mens Ice Hockey Team, the Mighty Roos, who went undefeated in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Division II Championships held in Newcastle, New South Wales. He was awarded ‘Best Goalie of Tournament’ for his feat in winning all four games played and allowing only four goals by him throughout the event.

I spoke to Matt at the NYTEX Sports Centre right after he was told by coaches Wildfong and Vogel that he had earned a CHL training contract with the Texas Brahmas.

Q: How did you learn about Making the Cut 2008?

A: Just online really. I was doing a lot of research, trying to find somewhere to play over here. I saw the opportunity to come to this free-agent camp and it was the only thing that could really fit in with the schedule of the Australian Hockey League.

Q: Is ice hockey very popular in Australia?

A: No, it's not. We have an 8-team semi-pro league. But hockey in Australia has been around for a hundred years. We actually have the third oldest hockey trophy in the world, The Goodall Cup.

Q: Where are you from in Australia?

A: I'm from Lismore but I live in Newcastle now. It's just two hours north of Sydney.

Q: What did you think about the camp; was it everything you thought it would be?

A: It was. I'm really looking forward to the challenge of the main camp and seeing what I can do against the real deal guys, so to speak.

Q: How did you feel when you were told that you had made it?

A: Ecstatic actually. I didn't know how to feel. It was a little daunting. But I'm really looking forward to it and really happy that it came through because I put a lot on the line for this. I sold my car and did everything to pay for my ticket over here, so yeah, it's fantastic.

Update: The Far North Coaster, an Australian online magazine used this story/interview on their website. You can read it here

Photo Credit: Newcastle North Stars