Boyle grabs hold onto goaltending job as a freshman
November 15, 2013
By Char Grimm | Hockey beat writer
A year ago, Tucker Boyle did not expect to be playing college hockey.
Boyle applied to UK due to a strong agriculture program and a love for the city of Lexington. Now, Boyle is one of the top goaltenders for UK.
A native of McLean, Virginia, Boyle is a freshman studying agricultural economics. Despite the fact that there are four other UK players from the Washington D.C. area, none of the veterans recruited Boyle.
“I heard there was a club hockey team here after I’d gotten in. I contacted Jacob Cohen, hung out with the team my first night down here and felt that I fit in. I decided I wanted to play and I tried out,” Boyle said of his introduction to UK hockey.
With a 4.14 goals against average and an .897 save percentage, Boyle leads all goaltenders on the team. But he says he is just now, after fourteen starts, shaking the rust off.
“Since I wasn’t sure I was going to be playing in college, I didn’t play any summer league. I’m just now starting to get my game back,” Boyle said.
Boyle is also still fine-tuning his adjustment into the college game. In high school, he could sit back and take a break every now and then. Not the case with college hockey.
“It’s a much faster paced game. I have to stay focused the full sixty minutes,” Boyle said.
Boyle credits his UK teammates with how easy it has been for him to adjust to the college style of play.
“They’ll tell me ‘be more aggressive here’, ‘stay back there’. It’s a completely different game than what I played in high school. They’ve been a great help,” says Boyle.
Although hockey has taken more out of the college experience than he expected, Boyle says he wouldn’t trade his time on ice with the Cats for anything.
“I love coming out here and playing. Everyone is so friendly and it makes my game better to be able to play in front of my friends,” he said.
UK hockey (3-11-1) takes on the University of Dayton (9-4-0) Friday and Saturday night. Friday night, the puck drops at 11:55 p.m. at the Lexington Ice Center. Saturday’s game will be played at the Kettering Rec Center in Kettering, Ohio at 10 p.m.