No holiday for Union hockey champs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Connor Light of Union College takes a drink of water during a 2 hour practice at Messa Rink Thursday, December 25, 2014.

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For the defending national champion Union College men’s hockey team, practicing on Christmas day was no big deal.

“We are Division I athletes. We have been sacrificing days like this for almost our whole lives,” said senior defenseman Charlie Vasaturo, who added that he may have eaten Christmas dinner at McDonald’s a few times while playing in youth hockey tournaments away from home.

The bond the players in the locker room have developed is evident as many referred to the team as their “second family.”

Vasaturo, a New Jersey native, said playing hockey on Christmas was one of the best presents he has ever received.

“This is what we dreamed of doing as kids,” he said. “To be able to play hockey on Christmas is pretty awesome.”

The players were just coming back after a 12-day break; they left campus Dec. 12 and returned Christmas Eve. Vasaturo said it was great to have some time to spend with his family, even if he couldn’t be there for the holiday itself.

“Hey, Christmas is just a day,” he said. “You can make Christmas any day you want to really. I was just happy to spend time with my parents and go back home.”

The team leaves today for a tournament in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where they will square off with the University of Connecticut on Saturday and either Sacred Heart or UMass-Lowell on Sunday. Sunday’s matchup depends on the result of the games on Saturday.

“The University of Connecticut is a very talented team, and they train extremely hard,” Vasaturo said. “It should be a great matchup.”

Kevin Shier, a freshman from Toronto, said the team practiced extremely hard on Christmas Day and is looking forward to the rest of the season.

“We practiced for a solid hour and a half,” Shier said. “It was a really good skate.”

Shier said all 28 players on the team were going out for dinner Christmas night.

“A lot of the guys aren’t from around here,” Shier said, noting many of the players are from Canada and Massachusetts. “We decided we would all stick together and go out as a team.”

Shier said he is encouraged by the amount of playing time he is getting in his first year and believes the team has a good chance to defend its national title.

“We have earned some tough wins and ties on the road, and we are playing good hockey,” Shier said. “It’s tough to follow in those guys’ footsteps, but we are doing a pretty good job so far.”

Head coach Rick Bennett said he felt bad the practice pulled players away from their families on Christmas, but “they are here for a reason.”

“All the guys know it takes work to get better each day,” Bennett said. “With the tournament coming up, we needed this practice.”

Bennett, who lives in Clifton Park, said he was able to spend the morning with his family before practice.

“That is why I scheduled the practice for noon,” he said. “At least the coaches would be able to spend time with their families before practice.”

Bennett added he doesn’t think the team feels any added pressure of defending a national title.

“I don’t think they see it has having a bull’s-eye on their backs or anything,” he said. “If we just go out there and play our game, we will do well.”