Passing the torch: Currie named captain
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer
He is soft spoken, modest and holds a 3.74 grade-point average as an athletic training major. He’s a Division I athlete, but don’t let sports stereotypes trick you into thinking he is a runner or a golfer. Zack Currie is in fact the newest captain of Quinnipiac’s men’s ice hockey program.
The junior soon to be senior is the 27th captain in the program’s history and the 12th since becoming a Division I program.
“When we were recruiting him, we loved him as a two-way player,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “He is really good on the penalty kill, has good anticipation and most of all, he has great character.”
Currie first started playing hockey when he was five years old, a somewhat late bloomer for a boy growing up in British Columbia. Like most Canadians though, the love of the game started in the Major Juniors.
“When you are that young, those guys are like heroes to you,” Currie said. “I remember going into the locker room after a game and looking around thinking how great it would be to be able to play like those guys.”
Currie no longer has to daydream about playing hockey at a highly competitive level – he is living it.
After playing four seasons for the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the BCHL, Currie elected to attend school at Quinnipiac University.
“From a young age my parents always preached education first,” Currie said. “I wanted a school with a good hockey program, and I also wanted to go to an academic program where I could come out with something that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life when hockey ends.”
On the ice, the Bobcat defenseman from Victoria, British Columbia has made great strides over the past three seasons to continue to become one of Quinnipiac’s top two-way players.
In his freshman season, Currie was good for five points, one goal and four assists. The following season he doubled his point total and added another for 11 points. Not too shabby for a defenseman whose main goal is to keep it simple.
“I don’t key in on any one thing,” Currie said. “I just stick with the basic things that I know that I can bring to the team and the things I do well.”
Currie’s game got a little more complicated this year when he scored nine goals and pocketed another nine assists.
“I think can bring a solid defensive presence, and I guess this year I brought some offense,” Currie added with a smile. “It’s not something that I key in on with my game – it just kind of came this year, which is a nice surprise.”
In addition to putting points on the board, Currie was one of just five Bobcats that played in all 40 games. Of the five Bobcats that played in all 40 games, four were defensemen.
Defense was a key to the Bobcats’ success throughout the season. QU finished the year ranked as the nation’s 13th best defensive unit and the second best penalty killing squad.
With the defense’s stellar play in mind, it makes sense that the team’s captain for next season is a player like Currie. But Currie still plans to utilize what he learned from his two former captains, Jean-Marc Beaudoin and Scott Zurevinski.
“Jean-Marc was pretty laid back … but he had that aura about him that when he spoke, it was a serious matter. With Zurvy, he was much more vocal guy and in your face … he really stood up for what he believed in and that’s something that I want to carry on.”
Now entering into his senior season, Currie is looking for something neither of his former leaders could capture: a championship.
“It’s game on for next season. It starts right now and we have got a lot of work to do,” Currie said. “We have that championship in mind, and you have to start now.”
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