Re: Providence Friars 2014 - 2015 Season
From Fosters Daily Democrat:
Family ties, and hockey, lead Burzynski to Providence
By JOHN DOYLE
jdoyle@fosters.com
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — “Senior Night,” the tradition in which high school senior athletes are honored before their last home game, might be a little more meaningful for Berwick Academy ice hockey player Tilly Burzynski this year. After all, Burzynski has been attending Berwick for 12 years and has played on the girls varsity hockey team since she was in seventh grade.
“It’s going to be bittersweet leaving,” Burzynski said. “Being a senior now, it’s crazy to look back on how much I’ve changed as a player, and how much the team has changed too.”
When Burzynski’s final game as a Berwick Bulldogs wraps up, it will mark the end of just one chapter of her hockey-playing life. On Tuesday, Burzynski signed on to play hockey at Providence College on a partial scholarship.
That the Bulldogs are coming off an appearance in the NEPSAC tournament and Burzynski, from Rye, is headed to a Division I college to play hockey only highlights how far she, and the Berwick program, have come since she first suited up for the varsity team five winters ago.
“When I started, we were struggling to get a team together,” said Burzynski, a forward. “Now we’re excelling beyond what people who thought we could.”
The decision to attend Providence was partly accidental, but it stemmed from a desire to follow her two older siblings, Anya and Gregory, who both played hockey at Berwick and attended Providence (though neither played for the Friars’ hockey teams). Anya graduated from Providence in 2014 and Gregory is currently a junior.
“I started playing in seventh grade and that year my sister (Anya) was a senior,” said Tilly, who also plays lacrosse for BA. “I was the youngest on the team and my sister was the oldest. It was really cool to have her to look up to.”
Burzynski said she knew she had the talent to play hockey at the college level, but the thought of playing D-I was kept in the back-burner of her mind.
“I looked a lot at the NESCAC schools and a few other D-I schools,” Burzynski said. “But mostly I was thinking I’d end up at a D-III school.”
She was exposed to numerous D-I coaches when she worked out at the New England Hockey Festival last spring.
“That really helped with the whole recruiting thing,” Burzynski said. “A lot of the coaches are D-I coaches, and they do a lot of recruiting from that camp. That was pretty much determined what I was going to do.”
Having two older siblings at Providence helped steer her in the Friars’ direction.
“I fell in love with it,” she said of the college. “But I didn’t think it would be possible to play hockey there. I thought that was out of the question. But it was always in my mind. I just didn’t think it would happen.”
Berwick coach Pat McNulty said Burzynski is a fierce competitor who leaves nothing on the bench and everything on the ice.
“She works extremely hard in practice and her work ethic should translate into playing time in college,” McNulty said. “The one thing I will always remember about her is how much fun she’s having when she’s on the ice.”
Burzynski said she hasn’t decided on a major yet but is leaning toward business. She said her experience at Berwick will help her transition to the rigors of college life.
“It’s definitely a big step up,” Burzynski said. “I know it’s going to be a challenge, a transition. But what I’ve gained from my Berwick experience, especially the work ethic, that will definitely help me with that transition.”
She’s also looking forward to a big year on the ice for her and the Bulldogs. She will be a captain, and needs only 20 points to reach the 100-point milestone.
“There’s always been a little more pressure to produce,” Burzynski said. “Now with my college decision off my shoulders, I think I’ll be able to let go on the ice more, have fun. Plus being a senior will be fun. We have a lot of new players this year.”
