Tommy Allen has never strapped on the pads to play goalie in ice hockey. In fact, the 56-year-old Trenton resident hasn’t worn ice skates for more than 10 years.
And yet there he was, on Aug. 1, highlighted on the NHL Network for making the top play of the year in the National Ball Hockey League.
Allen was the starting goaltender for the Northville Rippers in the NBHL Detroit Division this year – although he also subbed in for Blake Wojtala when the Detroit Knight Riders defeated the Livonia Venom in the championship game.
Photo courtesy of Tran Longmoore
Tommy Allen, 56, of Trenton was recognized by the NHL Network for making the play of the year in the National Ball Hockey League. As goaltender for the Northville Rippers, Allen came up with an incredible save during a June 7 NBHL Detroit Division game against the Livonia Venom. The NBHL’s top three plays of the year were aired on the NHL Network on Aug. 1. (Photo courtesy of Tran Longmoore)
On June 7, Allen and the Rippers faced the Venom.
The Venom were up 5-2 when speedy Ishaan Patel came racing down the right wing and cut to the center, turning the defenseman inside-out. Allen stayed with him and made the save but the rebound bounced down in front of him. Venom forward Eric Shultz pounced on the rebound at full speed as Allen was falling. Shultz stickhandled across the crease and seemed to have a wide-open cage for a target. He released the backhand shot and somehow Allen reached back with his trapper and caught it.
On Aug. 1, the panel on the NHL Network cable channel showcased the top three plays of the NBHL regular season. Allen’s sensational save topped the list.
“As soon as Ishaan took the shot Eric took the rebound off my stick and the rest was just a reaction to try to stay with Eric and hopefully have a chance to glove his shot,” Allen said. “I didn’t plan it. I just reacted to the situation.”
And now the hockey world, in surprising fashion, has reacted to Allen’s save.
Nobody – least of all Allen – ever expected to see Allen’s ball hockey goaltending featured on the NHL Network and NHL.com.
“I was honored when they picked one of the saves I made – I was speechless when I first heard about it,” said Allen, who has never played ice hockey in his life.
But that doesn’t mean Allen didn’t play hockey. Like lots of Michigan kids, he grew up with street hockey and floor hockey. When he was 24 years old he started playing dek hockey (another form of ball hockey) at the Wyandotte YMCA on a team called the Taylor Trophy. Even then, he was a center, not a goalie. One day, his pick-up hockey league crew needed a goalie, so he volunteered. He fell in love with being a goalie and he’s played between the pipes for 31 years.
“I’ve been told many times by NHL and college players that I missed my calling,” said Allen, who has worked in the Meijer produce department for 36 years.
What’s a 56-year-old produce department guy doing committing acts of goaltending robbery on players who are sometimes less than half his age? Allen doesn’t pay much attention to age.
“Age is just a number. I still feel like I am in my 30s,” Allen said. “God gave me the gift of athleticism and it’s a gift from God that I’m still playing.”
It’s also a product of clean living; Allen has never smoked, drank or taken drugs. He sticks to a healthy diet, works a physically demanding job and plays 3-5 games of hockey each week, bewildering Michigan Ball Hockey and NBHL shooters with an unpredictable style reminiscent of Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek.
At 31 years into his ball hockey career – just nine years short of collecting social security – Allen continues to enjoy the sport of ball hockey.
“I still love the challenge and all the amazing people and friends I’ve met over the years,” he said. “It’s why I still love playing the game.”
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Story submitted by Tran Longmoore