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02/03/2015 11:00 PMAlthough he's only had a short stint in the skates, Kevin Gaudio has made up for lost time by mastering the essentials of communication with his linemates en route to becoming a first-star player for the Indians.
The senior forward assistant captain didn't start playing hockey until he was 12, so Kevin participated in several camps in order to grasp the game at a rapid pace. For his final season with Guilford, Kevin has pieced together all the necessities for success in notching six goals with four assists while playing alongside two guys who are always lending a helping hand.
"My linemates in Jack Petrick and Stephen Thibault deserve a lot of the credit because they either are making perfect assists to me, or they are putting themselves in a good spot to score with me making the pass," says Kevin. "They help me play to the best of my ability so that the whole line plays well."
Kevin feels that flexibility is an important asset when it comes to his effective method of attacking the net. His fire on the ice is further enhanced by additional practice away from the rink.
"I either like to score in front of the net and stay planted where the defensemen can't knock me over and tip it in, or I also like to come in on the sidewall and take a clear shot with a wrister from the middle of that sidewall," Kevin says. "Stephen has a net at his home with a pocket in each corner of the net and we maybe shoot 1,000 pucks, trying to hit all four. While we are shooting, we talk about how we like to do things on the ice and learn how each of us wants to do things out there."
Head Coach Ralph Russo explains that Kevin constantly goes the extra mile to keep improving as a player and that perseverence paid off in a recent victory versus SCC/SWC Division II rival East Haven.
"Kevin works extremely hard each day in practice and in games. Recently, he and Stephen Thibault decided to get together to work on their shots at home and both practiced shooting for a couple of hours. Wouldn't you know, they both scored the next day in the game so hard work does pay off," says Russo. "In our 4-3 win against East Haven [on Jan. 17], Kevin scored our first and last goal of the game. In between goals, he admittedly struggled with handling some passes that resulted in turnovers, one of which resulted in an East Haven goal. But he didn't stop competing and he didn't complain. He kept working through it and the whole team benefitted."
As there are two tenants at DiLungo Rink in East Haven, Kevin knows that every matchup against the Yellowjackets is emotional. Considering Kevin's ups and downs that afternoon, as well as the Indians' struggles at the time, coming out of it with the triumph meant that much more for everyone.
"The game started off great. On my first or second shift, I tipped in the first goal for us to go up 1-0. Then later in the first and second periods, we kind of went through the motions. In the third, I mishandled a puck and they scored off of it and I heard it from Coach Russo, which made me want to make up for it. I then scored the game-winner so, hopefully, that made up for it," says Kevin. "It meant a lot to score that last goal because we were 1-5 going in and, if we dropped to 1-6, our whole mentality as a team would've changed."
Following their 0-4 start, Kevin and company took three out of their next five-a sign that the Indians are starting to believe in themselves as they pursue a postseason berth.
"We are putting together a nice little streak and showing we can play with anyone in the state. We are more confident now and I think everyone played their best hockey versus East Haven. We brought that momentum into the next game for a win [8-4 on Jan. 19 over Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury]," says Kevin, who thanks his parents Mary and Ben, along with Russo and assistant coach Bill Graves. "Confidence is the most important, but when everyone brings their best, we can win and play good hockey."