Nick Reif Named UCHC Rookie of the Year
- Victor Menendez
- 28 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By: Aiden Styles
On Tuesday, Brockport men’s hockey forward Nick Reif was named UCHC Rookie of the Year and earned and Empire 8 First team as well. Reif led the team with 21 points in his rookie campaign.
“You know it felt good and it’s a great start but the next three years I definitely want to improve you know, and keep helping the team,” Reif Said
The freshman forward left his mark early in his first two collegiate games. Reif scored four goals including a hat trick in his second game. Reif is one of eight players in the UCHC to record a hat trick. Ultimately, his hat trick was enough to secure a 6-2 win over Neumann.
“I was definitely very happy with the start of my year,” Reif said. “It was a great start, great start for the team but yeah I focus on having a more well-rounded game and just at the same time focusing on my production.”
Reif’s hot start did not end there; you can argue that he saved his best puck for the most important time of the season. In the freshman’s final six games, he finished with eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) including a power play goal against 10th ranked Geneseo. Reif also recorded an assist in the playoff game against Chatham.
“I’ve always been kind of just offensive minded; I was focused more on being better defensively and I feel like with that my game kind of matured and I feel like with that, consistency also came,” Reif said.
Reif was not the only freshman to have an impactful rookie campaign. Freshman Kyle Kussman earned second team Empire 8 honors as he led the green and gold with 13 assists along with four goals. Freshman Mathew Lee also finished with 19 points along with freshman Brody Seitz who finished with 19 points.
“The group is really exciting,” Reif said. “You’ve got 80-90 percent of the guys that are eligible to come back next year. I am hoping everybody stays, and I feel like we can keep improving. We just have such a young high potential group,” Reif said.
The Golden Eagles finished the season with 10 wins, an improvement over last year’s campaign, totaling six wins. Nick Reif is confident that next year’s team will only be better.