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03/12/2014 12:00 AMJack Petrick was practically born with a stick in his hand. Now he uses one to both pass and shoot for points with Guilford.
Growing up in a hockey-rich household, the junior forward fell in love with the game at the age of three. Now having just wrapped up his third year with the Indians, Jack tallied a well-balanced total of 12 goals and 15 assists to lead Guilford in points with 27 on a productive line.
"Coach [Ralph] Russo had me playing with [sophomore forwards] Chris Cafiero and Stephen Thibault and we just have great chemistry and played well together," says Jack. "I just feed off of them and I, along with them, am a similar player who keeps working the puck."
Jack has accumulated vast knowledge on scoring situations over time and says it's about looking for both space and speedsters on the rink.
"It started young for me when I learned the game through watching NHL games on television and also my family members play," Jack says. "I try to know what to do when I get the puck and I just look for the open ice and feed the puck to whoever is breaking to the net."
Coach Russo praises Jack for not only his contributions in heated battles, but also the way he conducts himself as an athlete and teammate who's quick on the draw.
"Jack is a quiet, but determined competitor who supports his team both on and off of the ice," says Russo. "He battles in every faceoff and has steadily compiled his even point total."
Jack feels his characteristics stem from his two families and his happy medium between the pair generates from his passion for both sport and team.
"I saw this year was a year when I would be a big part and play a lot of games so I wanted to try and do all I could for the team, lead by example, and have them feed off of my energy," says Jack. "I get my determination from my parents and hockey is something I love to do. So I work hard with it as long as I still have it."
His ability to adjust based on the opponent has helped Jack's success when the puck drops as he used those faceoff victories to aid the Indians in their first win of this campaign.
"I have to look where the other guy's stick is and what he is planning to do," Jack says. "For a smaller guy, I try to lift his stick away, take his body away, and get the puck away quickly. On bigger guys, I get low with my center of gravity. Against Yarmouth, Maine, I scored the opening goal and, then late in the third, I was able to win the faceoff and crash the net for a score on a rebound."
The Indians may not have collected many triumphs this year, yet Jack explains they were undefeated in the hustle category with the group getting production from each grade.
"We didn't have the greatest season with wins, but I can't recall a game where we got outplayed because everyone here was working hard as possible and always competing," says Jack, who thanks Coach Russo and assistant Bill Graves, along with parents Cathi and Thomas. "We have many talented freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on this team and to have contributions from each class is great. They are all extremely hard workers and I learn as much from them as they do from me."