Galen Catholic College student Flynn Ackland is continuing to rise within the rink after being named the top goalie at the Inline Hockey Australia National Championships for a second straight year.
The Beechworth teenager wore the goalkeeping pads for his state in the week-long 17 and under tournament last month in Tasmania, where Victoria would go on to make the semi-finals before going down to the host state.
Throughout the tournament Flynn alternated goalie duties each games and made 64 saves, allowing just the eight total goals and recorded a stellar shutout against South Australia.
In another match, Flynn made 23 saves from 26 shots as eventual champions Queensland peppered his goals in their 3-1 win over Victoria.
He was named the championships best goalie for the 17 and under division, with Victoria conceding the least amount of average goals per game across the tournament.
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He was also the only goalie in the division to hold a team goalless for a match
The national championships was Flynn’s second time representing his state, after also being named as best goalie in the 15 and under division last year.
The 17-year-old said he had an amazing experience in Tasmania, being among the best in the sport across the country for his age.
“Being with the team for a week was easy, they are a great group of people to hang around and have a lot of laughs, the coaches who also play for Victoria and Australia are very encouraging and supportive,” he said.
Throughout tryouts for the Victorian 17 and under side, Flynn said he had to travel to Melbourne every weekend for three months straight.
“The tryouts were hard because they involve a lot of physical fitness and dedication to the sport,” he said.
The Wangaratta teen has been playing inline hockey since he was nine-years-old, when he joined the Border Benchwarmers, with midweek training alternating between Wangaratta and Wodonga.
“The members of the club have always been supportive and encouraging towards me and new members,” he said.
Flynn was inspired to become a goalie and put on the rollerblades due to his interest in ice hockey and the NHL.
His favourite player and role model is former NHL champion goalie Marc-André Fleury, which inspired him to don the number 29 and support his Las Vegas Golden Knights.
“My ambitions are to continue training hard and compete regularly for the club and hopefully one day I’ll be overseas playing for Australia,” Flynn said.
Flynn will part of the Border Benchwarmer’s division three team at the Winter Classic in Moe this upcoming weekend, bringing together teams from across the region.
