University of Connecticut Athletics
Checking in with the #IceBus Seniors
4/6/2020 2:46:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
The UConn hockey team enjoyed its most successful season since joining Hockey East in 2014. Although they didn't have a chance to cement their legacy with a tournament run, this group of Huskies will be remembered for changing the standard of UConn hockey.
The Huskies had a lot of their success thanks to the leadership and contributions of seniors Wyatt Newpower, Benjamin Freeman, Alexander "Sasha" Payusov and Justin Howell. We thought we would check in with them to let them reflect on their UConn careers, this special season and look forward to their futures.
First, Newpower said looking back, being a UConn hockey player impacted every aspect of his life.
"It's been a time that my hockey game and my schooling and my personal discipline, the amount of development that I've got in both those categories the last four years is almost unexplainable," Newpower said.
He said this season specifically was really special because they put themselves in a situation to accomplish what they wanted to accomplish.
"Going into the year, it's usually like it was every year where UConn was a team that would be bottom of the league and hopefully fighting for a playoff spot," Newpower said. "With the team that we had this year, everybody in our locker room knew that we weren't gonna be that kind of team. We were gonna be a team that was gonna make a run for the title and get home ice at the very least."
Even though the team fell just short of that goal of a home ice playoff series, Newpower said that the fact that they had that in their grasp meant a lot.
He said that when he found out about the tournament getting canceled, he was at the rink after practice and coach Mike Cavanaugh pulled him and Payusov aside and let them know.
"We couldn't control our emotions because we poured everything we had into UConn and especially that year," Newpower said. "To be seniors and knowing that it was over, it kind of all hit both of us at once and we got emotional. It was really hard to swallow that pill."
Newpower said the senior night comeback win against UMass this season was the best moment of his UConn career and one that he will remember years down the road. He also said that he hopes he is remembered as a strong leader who pushed his teammates to become better and gave it his all every time on the ice.
As for his future, Newpower just recently signed a contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, and he will play for their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, next season.
Next, Freeman said he has consistently reflected on his time at UConn and really appreciates all it has done for him as a player and a person.
"It's four years of your life where you can identify what you were doing every day, and it was UConn hockey," Freeman said. "I feel very blessed that it was such a well run program and it's such a great league. I had such great teammates too and coaching staff."
He said this past season, he and his senior teammates really helped put the team in gear in the second half of the season, and he hopes that future classes will be able to bring that intensity for an entire season.
For Freeman, it's not a specific moment (although the BU and UMass wins this year were great) that he'll remember, but rather a collection of them.
"I don't know if I'll remember all the games specifically, but just what our senior class went through every day — going to practice, having tough practices," Freeman said. "Getting through that as a team, I think that I'll remember that the most."
Freeman said that he hopes he is remembered as a good UConn hockey player, but more importantly, he hopes he is remembered fondly by his teammates.
Freeman doesn't have an official contract yet, but he said he is working with his agent and plans to play professional hockey in North America next season.
Next, Payusov echoed his fellow seniors with appreciation for all the memories he had as a UConn hockey player.
"Looking back on my career, I have so many good memories," Payusov said. "The good peers, the guys that came before us; just so many memories and so many good relationships that I've built over the years here. I don't know how to put it in a sentence. There's just so much good that I'm taking away from this."
He said the second half of this season was an absolute blast for him as a senior.
"It was so much fun because everyone bought in," Payusov said. "Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, they all bought into what we were doing, and it was so much fun because winning is fun. Great group of guys. Outside of the locker room, we hung out a lot together. It was just a really good team atmosphere."
Payusov said the ending of the season still stings because they had unfinished business, but he understands that what's going on in the world is more important. He said he doesn't care about being remembered personally, but he hopes as a senior class they instilled a good work ethic in the younger classes that will come after them.
Payusov also plans on playing professionally next season, but he's not sure where yet.
Finally, Howell said he didn't realize how much being a UConn hockey player meant to him until now that it's over.
"When I was there, you didn't really appreciate it as much as I do now," Howell said. "It's four years of one of the best times of my life. It's an experience that only so many athletes get to experience. You create such a brotherhood with your team, and it's such an incredible experience."
Howell said he was really happy to see the program continue to progress with the successful season they had, but it stunk that they weren't able to finish it off.
As a hockey player, his fondest memories were going into battle every day with his teammates and picking them up when they were down and having them do the same for him. He wants to be remembered as a good teammate, a good person in the community and a hard worker on the ice.
"On the ice, I go to war with every guy, I stand up for every guy," Howell said. "My game is playing hard. Everyone knows I'm not the most skilled guy out there, but going into the corners, I'm hoping to win every battle."
Howell is in a different position with his future. He has a fifth year of college hockey available to him because he missed big parts of multiple seasons with injuries. So he will decide in the coming months whether he wants to return to UConn for one more season or if he wants to go play professionally, possibly overseas.
