BOISE, Idaho — Tomas Sholl retired from hockey after Saturday night's match with the Tulsa Oilers. Idaho News 6 spoke with the goalie after the game about what is next.
"When they announced my name, and I got that cheer, it was a really cool feeling," said Steelheads goalie Tomas Sholl.
Head coach Everett Sheen smiled, saying, "Just what he's done in this league. He had to grind to get a chance at this level; then when he did, he became one of the best goalies in the league."
Saturday night was a tough loss for Steelheads fans after the Tulsa Oilers won 4-3 in overtime. But the bigger loss was the retirement of goalie Tomas Sholl.
"In a perfect world, you could play hockey until you're 60 years old and never get hurt, and you'd have all the energy in the world, but that is just not the world we live in. There is going to be a time for everyone when they need to hang up the skates and move on to something different," shrugged the goalie.
Before the season, Sholl made the decision to move on from protecting the goal to protecting homes with the Meridian Fire Department.
Sholl exclaimed, "I really do feel at home here. This is a community that I love. My daughter was born here in September, and she is going to be raised here in the Treasure Valley. If I can be a part of making that community better, safer, and happier as a whole, it's a huge honor for me to be a part of something that will allow me to do that."
Sholl says he will begin at the academy in February and will have about a year before he is officially a firefighter.
"It's really sad and bittersweet, but I'm really glad I get to watch him here in his last game," said Cole Anderson, a fan who attends Sholl's goalie camps.
Andrew Kane added, "Everyone loves him, and I hope he does his best being a firefighter."
Sholl ends his career as the second-winningest goalie in Steelheads history at 66 wins, with 12 of those being shutouts. In his final game, Sholl saved 45 shots on goal.
"I definitely left everything out there. I didn't hold anything back tonight and I was actually thinking if it's going to finish right here surrounded by my teammates on the bench, it's not the worst place for it to end," finished the future firefighter.
Sholl said that he is very thankful for his time here in Boise but is extremely excited to move on to this next chapter in his life.
