Jimmy Thomas is never satisfied.
After the then-freshman won the starting goalie position over two seniors last year, the native of Waterville laid out a personal plan for this season.
"I think personally that I shouldn't lose a game this year," Thomas said.
The task will obviously be tall for the sophomore, who led all Ohio goalies in 2016-17 with a 13-4 record in 19 games. Thomas amassed a 2.38 goals against average and tallied three shutouts — the latter also led the trio of Bobcat goalies.
After losing 10 seniors from last year's national title run, Ohio added eight newcomers for this season. Ohio's team of 25 players is a bit smaller than last year's team of 28.
Despite a new-look team, Thomas has faith that this season's young, but arguably just as talented squad will not only accomplish its team goal of a national title, but also provide what he needs in achieving his own personal objective: a perfect season.
"This year I think that we should absolutely win the league championship and most likely the national championship," Thomas said. "We lost some guys that we really depended on last year, but I feel like these new guys can put on the shoes and do the jobs that they're expected to do.
"Looking at our team and how we play ... I got a good defensive core, a lot of new D, so I think that'll help me. Absolutely my goal this year is to have zero losses, and I think with this team we can do it."
Thomas's goal not only shows the confidence he has in himself but also in the team as a whole.
Because the team practices against themselves, having a talented goalie can make it difficult to score goals in practice.
"It sucks," defenseman Jake Faiella said with a laugh on facing Thomas in practice. "You're coming down off the wing and you think you've got a little angle on him. You rip your hardest shot and he's right there to save it. He's really good."
Faiella, a senior and team captain, spent six seasons playing in amateur and junior hockey leagues before joining Ohio, and still puts Thomas at the top of goalies he's had to shoot on.
"I've had a lot of good goalies playing in the (North American Hockey League) and he's definitely right up there," Faiella said. "He's really fast and flexible and closes off the angles really well so it's hard to find the net."
Thomas's flexibility and quick reactions excite fans and frustrate opponents, but he believes his best attribute isn't seen.
It's heard.
"I'm very vocal," Thomas said. "I'm almost like a third defenseman back there. I like to tell my players what to do since they can't always see what's behind them. I like to let them know what's going on on the ice because I can see everything from where I am."
But Thomas doesn't just shout what he sees around him with normal words.
"There's certain terms and words I use that my defensemen will understand," Thomas said. "Normal people wouldn't understand what I'm saying, but my 'D' know what I mean when I say certain things."
Thomas's on-ice chemistry with his teammates remained strong heading into this season because of the 1,111 minutes the goalie logged last year. Coach Sean Hogan believes Thomas earned the opportunity for similar, if not more playing time this year, but still expects Thomas to continue improving.
"I think we want him to build off last year," Hogan said. "I think Jimmy really pushed our two seniors, and we're gonna push him this year too. He earned it down the stretch and basically gave us a shot to win every game and help us make the national finals for the first time since 2004."
Last season, Thomas started at the bottom of the roster for playing time.
This season, and likely for the rest of his Ohio career, he'll be at the top among two others, freshmen Mason Koster and Jackson Chilberg.
But Thomas is looking forward to the competition. It's what pushed him to improve last season, and he's looking forward to competing with the same group of talented goalies in the future.
"You got to go into practice and prove that you're the one that should get the start," Thomas said. "It's nice to have good goaltenders on your team because that pushes you to be better and work harder everyday.
"You can't stay the same in this league. If you're not getting better then someone else is passing you, so you got to come to the rink trying to get better and not just stay the same."
With a disappointing end to an otherwise stellar freshman season behind him and another promising team in front of him, Thomas is confident that he'll get the opportunity to fulfill his own goal of a perfect season and the team's goal of a national championship.
But until then, he won't be satisfied.
