Not every goaltender is as laid back as Albert Lea Thunder goalie Tom Lescovich, then again not many goaltenders play as well as Lesovich has for the Thunder.

Goalies get tagged as being head cases and full of quirks. Not so with Lescovich. Sure, his teammates still think he’s crazy, but not to the degree of other goalies.

“Most of them out there, they’re a weird duck so to speak,” Albert Lea head coach Brad Zangs. “And he’s not. He’s a pretty cool kid.”

Thunder captain Danny Wood has gotten to know Lescovich well by sitting with him on road trips and agrees with Zangs for the most part.

“He’s still crazy, don’t get me wrong,” Wood said.

Lescovich, a Clifton Park, N.Y. native, says he doesn’t prepare for games like other goaltenders. Instead of trying to psyche himself up before a game he opts for a power nap before heading to the rink.

“A lot of goalies are always trying to get amped up and tweak themselves out,” he said. “I just try to stay as relaxed as possible.”

Lescovich was the odd man out when he was with the Bismarck Bobcats. He was the third goaltender behind Air Force recruit David Bosner and Matt Grogan, a solid backup.

Lescovich quickly found a place to play with Albert Lea. Zangs had seen him play before he became the head coach of the Thunder and he liked what he saw. Lescovich knew Zangs had taken the job with Albert Lea and when he was released by the Bobcats he placed a call to Zangs and was offered a tryout.

Wood said Lescovich was heads and shoulders above the rest of the goaltenders that tried out — literally and figuratively.

Lescovich is 6-foot-3 and moves well for a goalie his size. For Lescovich his size is an advantage in the net.

“I feel I can move pretty well for a big guy,” Lescovich saids. “My legs cover a lot of the lower net so that’s obviously a huge part, too. Not many goalies have big legs like me that can move I do.”

Lescovich is one of the more active goalies in the NAHL this season. He has

303 saves in 11 games since joining the Thunder, which works out to 27 a game. He ranks 13th in the league in shots saves.

Lescovich doesn’t mind all the work, in fact he thinks it’s better that he sees so many shots.

“It’s kind of easy when you’re getting pounded with shots, you don’t really think about it, you’re in a zone,” Lescovich said.

Lescovich has a 3.51 goals against average, and has allowed 33 goals, not exactly gaudy numbers but considering the two other goaltenders that have seen time for the Thunder have a 6.57 GAA and a 4.13 GAA, it’s an improvement.

In his first two full games with the Thunder he made 78 saves. He made 38 stops against Bismarck to help Albert Lea to its first win in his second start. Following that win he exceeded 30 saves in the next four games.

His save total has decreased lately, but that has come because the team has started to play better.

Lescovich has infused confidence to the team as it feeds off of his strong play in next.

“It seems like the kids have more confidence,” Zangs said.

Lescovich has noticed a change in the attitude of the team since his arrival.

“When I first got here it was kind of a mess,” Lescovich said. “After I got here we started turning things around. Every game has been closer since then. The morale has definitely changed and the attitude has definitely changed.”

The Thunder was outscored 37-15 before Lescovich arrived and since been outscored 31-16, which includes a 10-2 drubbing against Owatonna. Take that game away and Albert Lea has only been outscored 21-16 in its past eight games.

“What he does is he gives us a chance to win,” Zangs said. “If we find some offense for the kid I think we’ll be a lot better.”

His best games have come against Bismarck, his former team. Lescovich has a 3-1 win to his credit and a 2-1 loss. He admits he gets up for those games a little more than others.

There’s no doubt his play in the net has had a big effect on the team.

“I feel like if we take a penalty or give up an odd-man rush the boys aren’t too nervous anymore,” he said. “It’s make them play better, it makes them play more confident.”

Lescovich bounced around quite a bit before finding what feels like home in Albert Lea. He had plans to join the North Iowa Outlaws, but didn’t have a spot secure. Then after not landing a spot on the Bobcats squad he has found his place in Albert Lea.

“I was kind of all over the place, but I ended up where I needed to be,” he said.

Lescovich has fit in well with the Thunder and he said he would like to stay in Minnesota to play for Mankato State University eventually.