NCAA division three schools have taken a liking to Sunshine Coast hockey players.
After completing his first season with Quinnipiac, Halfmoon Bay's David Arduin is transfering to Geneseo State University in upstate New York while Sechelt's Danny Baker is getting set for his first year, his freshman season with Elmira College, also in upstate New York.
Both players were back on the Coast last week helping out at the Sunshine Coast Summer Hockey School and spoke exclusively to Coast Reporter about their upcoming college hockey seasons.
After playing junior 'A' in Ontario for a while, Baker came back to B.C. where he played with the Saanich Braves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. It was with the Braves, he said, that he took a big step forward as a hockey player and that experience enabled him to get his shot with Elmira.
"Brad Cook, the coach in Saanich, is a great guy. He took me under his wing, put me on the first line and gave me a lot of minutes. He made me a better player," said Baker. "I worked hard. He saw that and battled for me. He called a lot of colleges. I had about 10 that gave me a good look and I settled on Elmira. I flew down there in mid-July. The arena was first rate, the campus was first rate it just blew me away. I was really excited that I settled there. I couldn't be happier."
Baker knows that he will have to continue to work hard if he wants to get lots of ice time with the Soaring Eagles.
"Whether I'm on the third line and penalty killing or on the power play it doesn't matter. I know I'll have to work hard. If I take a shift off I might be taking a few nights off I'll be sitting in the bleachers," he said. "It gives me a lot of incentive to go in there and work my butt off. I want to be on the ice, not in the bleachers. If it means taking a big hit, or dropping the gloves I'll do whatever it takes to stay on the ice."
Baker plans to study pre-law with a business major and when he's not hitting the books or hitting the ice, Baker will be hitting the links with the school's men's golf team.
"I'm excited to live in the dorm, meet some new guys, some new teammates, meet some new girls," he said.
Elmira College had another strong season in 2008/09 that culminated with an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. When it was all said and done, the Soaring Eagles finished the year with a 16-3-3 record including a 9-3-3 mark in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) West division.
Arduin is coming off an up and down year with Quinnipiac, his first at the school.
He didn't play much and suffered another groin injury and just felt it was in his best interest to look at other opportunities.
"Just being a part of the ECAC and that hockey league and seeing the campuses of Harvard, Yale and Princeton and playing against three of the top 10 teams in the nation last year is something I will never forget," said Arduin. "There were many reasons why I made this decision. After an up and down year, I really didn't have the season that I wanted to have and they [the coaches] wanted to have. In my year-end meeting with my coaches, we went over the direction of the team and the direction for myself. I could have returned to Quinnipiac, but it just didn't feel right. I think I've been in enough situations before in my hockey career that I know what's right and what's wrong. I gave it my all in Quinnipiac and I don't regret a single thing that I did there. I just think Geneseo is a better fit."
Arduin is more than a little excited when he talks about the prospects of playing at Geneseo. He'll get a chance to play again with Stefan Decosse, who was his linemate in Trail for two years. Arduin and Decosse have become close friends and Arduin admits that was a big selling point.
"I've never played better hockey in my life then when I've played with Stefan," Arduin said. "He brings the best out of me on the ice and as a person. He's a great guy. I went out for a visit. Seeing the campus, the rinks awesome, the players are awesome and the education is top notch. As soon as the coach called me it was a done deal."
In 2008-09, the Knights posted a record of 14-12-1 and finished the conference regular season with a third place record of 8-7-1. They defeated Buffalo State in the first round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoffs before falling to number two Oswego in the semifinals.
"It's the little things that have me excited," Arduin added. "Playing with Stefan again, getting the number 22. I played my best hockey with that number. Geneseo has the right mix of guys. They were in the top 15 in the nation last year. It's just a good fit and I'm really excited to get there and start playing."
