Elmira's Pretorius to Represent South Africa at 2017 IIHF World Championships
(Article and image courtesy of Elmira Athletics: Original Post)
IIHF Schedule & Statistics | South Africa Roster
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Although the 2016-17 Elmira College men's ice hockey season has come to its conclusion, one Soaring Eagle will continue to suit up in the following weeks.
Charl Pretorius '19 will be trading in his Purple and Gold attire and instead will don his nation's colors, as the second-year netminder was once again selected to represent South Africa at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey World Championship Division III, which is set to be played in Sofia, Bulgaria, from April 10-16.
Pretorius is no stranger to the international spotlight after helping South Africa claim a bronze medal at last year's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III in Istanbul, Turkey; that bronze was later upgraded to silver due to a violation by Georgia. Prior to his time with the Soaring Eagles, the sophomore goalie also represented his country in the U18 installment of the IIHF Championship and took home the tournament's top goaltender award en route to gold and silver medals in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
The Pretoria, South Africa, native saw action between the pipes in four games this season for the Soaring Eagles, all of which were against ECAC West Tournament bound teams, including eventual tournament champion and nationally-ranked Hobart College. Pretorius started in each of his four appearances, averaging 32.75 saves per game with back-to-back outings with 40-or-more saves against the seventh-ranked Statesmen of Hobart.
"Given the opportunity to represent my country at the international stage is something special and definitely an honor," Pretorius humbly stated. "Playing time builds experience and confidence so that will definitely play a big factor for the tournament."
Pretorius and the rest of Team South Africa will look to navigate their way through Group B of the preliminary round, as they take on the likes of Luxembourg, UA Emirates and Georgia. South Africa opens the tournament on Monday, April 10, against Georgia, and will hope to finish as one of the top two teams in Group B in order to receive a bye into the semifinal round on Saturday, April 15. The winner of the tournament will be due for promotion into IIHF Division II for next year.
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