Lacing up the skates, tightening his shoulder pads and taping his stick, senior Maddox Puzzoule prepares for his last season of Mansfield Hockey.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to play this game,” Puzzoule said. “I give all my glory to God for helping me improve throughout my life.”
Puzzoule started playing hockey in Kentucky for the Owensboro PuckHogs at 6-years-old.
“I was pretty bad my first year,” Puzzoule said. “I was still learning how to skate. I had all the wrong gear, and I was wearing a bubble cage.”
Hockey requires a full team, and Puzzoule believes it is very important that the team bonds. A team can help each other become better at the sport and better people overall.
“I’ve grown pretty close with all of them, and there are some friendships that should last for my entire lifetime,” Puzzoule said. “They have shown me what it’s like to work as a team and work with each other.”
He credits his coaches, Dustin Donathan and Isaac Cirinna, for developing him into the player he is today.
“I really enjoyed playing when Dustin was coaching because he really helped me develop as a person and a player,” Puzzoule said. “Coach Isaac Cirinna has helped me understand hockey on a different level than I was used to.”
With this being Puzzoule’s senior season, he holds himself with high standards for himself and for the team this year.
“I’d like us to go far in the States and win the city championship,” Puzzoule said. “And also have at least 20 points total for myself.”
Coach Cirinna met Puzzoule during his first year coaching on JV Gold, but really got to know him last year coaching him on the top varsity team.
“My first impression of Maddox was that he is softer spoken and highly perceptive of what is happening around him,” Coach Cirinna said.
Coach Cirinna thinks Puzzoule possesses many attributes that lead to his peers looking to him as a role model and someone to look up to.
“He is hungry to improve at anything,” Coach Cirinna said. “He communicates by working hard and being very attentive to what details led to success.”
Puzzoule knows this may be his last year playing hockey, so he plans on taking an experience-based approach to it.
“I honestly just want to have fun,” Puzzoule said. “I want to have a good connection with my teammates.”
