University of Connecticut Athletics
Getting to Know the #IceBus Freshmen: Matt Pasquale
2/27/2020 10:08:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
The newest member of the UConn hockey team is Matt Pasquale, a goalie from North Reading, Massachusetts. He joined the team for the spring semester after a brief stint in the NAHL and two seasons in the NCDC before that. Pasquale joins a deep and talented goalie group and is really excited to grow his game at the top level of college hockey. We got to know Matt a little better in this week's interview.
Q: You're the newest member of the team. What's your experience been like so far?
MP: It's been fun. A lot of hard work, but it's been fun. It's been good to get to know the guys and stuff. Just getting to know the guys and the team and kind of how things work. It's been a good experience so far though.
Q: What was that process like? How were you able to just join the team halfway through the season?
MP: Yeah, it was weird. It all kind of happened pretty fast. The coaching staff came up to see a few of my games. I think they saw me play a little previously, and I think they liked what they saw. So I came down here for a tour. The tour went well, it was fun. I loved the campus, loved the facilities here and everything, so I thought it would be a pretty good fit for me and just a good time to come in and compete and get used to the pace here. It's an adjustment, just getting ready for next year and hopefully trying to fit my way in.
Q: Has it been difficult kind of getting thrown into the fire like that halfway through the season?
MP: A little bit. Sort of the thing for me, just coming into school, having to balance school and hockey and just getting back to that sort of lifestyle. Because juniors, you're just playing hockey, you got nothing else to worry about. So I think coming in here is trying to build relationships with some of the guys, getting used to school and hockey and balancing that all out.
Q: How have the other goalies taken you in?
MP: They've been awesome. They've been really great guys. That support from all the guys and especially the goalies too has been awesome.
Q: What stood out to you about UConn when you were going through your search for where you wanted to play?
MP: For me growing up, especially in Boston, you always wanna go to those Hockey East teams — BU, BC or whatever it may be. But I grew up going to a lot of Hockey East games. UNH, BU games. Sometimes they'd be playing UConn, so it's cool to come to a Hockey East school and get that experience. For me, it was a dream come true being able to come here. The school's a great school too, and I love the campus so I thought it would be a good fit.
Q: When did you start playing hockey and how did you end up being a goalie?
MP: So I started playing when I was 8, which was actually kind of late. Playing goalie started like the year after. You always kind of bounce around, like you're playing forward, D or whatever. And then finally someone's like, 'Hey, someone needs to put on the pads to do the goalie rotation.' I put them on, and I guess I was ok at it. But then my dad used to be a goalie, so he was encouraging to stick with that. I guess that sort of stuck with me ever since.
Q: What mentality goes into being a good goalie? Because some guys have it and some guys don't.
MP: Yeah I think it's just a calm demeanor. Like a lot of guys get sort of shaken up after that first shot or that first goal. For a goalie, it's just really important to stay calm and always get back to your breathing and know where you're at. You let up a bad goal, you gotta have a short memory because if you keep it in your head, then they're just gonna keep going in. I think for a goalie, mentality is probably the biggest thing. The game is 90% mental and 10% physical.
Q: How was your experience in juniors? You played for a couple of different leagues right?
MP: Yeah, so I played for the Monarchs. That was in the NCDC with Coach Ryan Frew and Tony Dalessio, and they were awesome. Great guys and they gave me as much ice as I wanted and really as many games as I wanted to play. So I just got endless opportunities there to sort of keep developing and developing. It wasn't the best junior league out there, but I think I was able to get as much ice as I possibly could. For me, that really helped, that experience. And then I left probably three months in or so and went to the Generals in the NAHL, and I just thought it would be a good opportunity to get some more exposure and I'm glad it worked out. Coach [Bryan] Erikson down there gave me an opportunity to come in, and I played a few games there and was able to show that I can do it at the next level.
Q: How do you feel that those experiences are going to prepare you for this level?
MP: Yeah, I think junior hockey in general prepares you just for life and the college environment as far as how to balance your life independently. You get to college, and you're more independent than when you're in high school. I think that junior hockey experience and sort of being able to bring that experience into the college environment is something valuable.
Q: Who's your favorite team and favorite player in the NHL?
MP: Bruins, obviously, favorite team. I was actually at Game 1 of the [Stanley] Cup Finals last year. Love the B's of course. Favorite player? I don't know. Goalie would have to be like [Braden] Holtby or [Carey] Price. I just love how calm they are. Player-wise, probably like Pasta [David Pastrnak] or Ovi [Alexander Ovechkin]. I used to actually watch, when I was younger, Ovechkin clips. I loved how he played. He was becoming a superstar then.
Q: What's a fun fact about you that somebody wouldn't necessarily just be able to find in your bio?
MP: I think I was pretty good at baseball before I started getting really serious at hockey. I used to play those town all-star teams in baseball. I batted like third. You know you're cleaning up. I thought I was pretty good at baseball if I stuck with it, but I think hockey is a time-consuming sport. You gotta focus in on that.
Q: What do you want to accomplish over your time here at UConn?
MP: I'd love to play and play a lot and hopefully build some strong relationships that I can carry into my future. But also build a strong hockey career and a strong hockey resume after my time here. Just getting in here, you always want to strive for the best and you always want to strive to be great. I think the culture and community the coaches have established here and especially Coach Cavanaugh, it's like work your butt off and be as great as you can. So for me, I want to come in, work as hard as I possibly can and see where that takes me.
