Steele De Fazio
Men’s Hockey
Things are looking good for the men’s hockey team; with wins against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Nipissing University Lakers last weekend, the Gaels have improved to a 3-1-0 record.
Things are looking very good for goalie Steele De Fazio, too. With 1.47 goals against average and a .954 save percentage last weekend, De Fazio made a decisive contribution to his team’s victories. He also finished the weekend with a total of 42 saves.
De Fazio has been playing solidly this season with 3.54 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. One of his greatest strengths is the shootout; De Fazio has not allowed a single goal so far this season, leading his team to two shootout victories.
It’s no surprise that hockey comes naturally to De Fazio, who grew up in a hockey-playing family including his uncle Dean De Fazio who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He began playing “pretty much like any other Canadian,” he said. “One week, I was the only one that wanted to play [goalie]; then I stayed in the next week.”
De Fazio went on to play house league then select; before coming to Queen’s, he played for the Wellington Dukes, an OPJHL team. De Fazio is currently in his third year of Physical and Health Education.
At the moment, he’s preparing to face the Carleton Ravens and the McGill Redmen in Ottawa and Montreal this weekend, then both at Kingston next weekend. He is confident going forward.
“We’re a young team, but we’re fast,” he said, “We should do well this season. We should have a pretty good run in the playoffs.”
—Benjamin Deans
Stephanie Hulse
Cross-Country
Queen’s can thank fifth-year cross-country runner Matt Hulse for introducing his younger sister to the sport. Second-year student Stephanie Hulse wouldn’t have chosen running had it not been for her older brother’s early morning practises.
“My brother used to train with the high school,” she said. “My mom would drive in every morning and she would bring me. Then I’d have to run and I didn’t like it.”
The older Hulse has made a name for himself on the Gaels cross-country team as well as in Queen’s athletics, winning the Jenkins Trophy last season for outstanding male student-athlete. Fort Henry Hill was good to the Hulse siblings last weekend, with both finishing second in their races.
Stephanie Hulse said she was initially worried about the race.
“I didn’t feel too good,” she said. “I felt nervous during the race which is really weird. Usually as soon as the gun goes, your nerves all disappear but I was still nervous. During the race, I didn’t think it was going to go that well,” she said. “I was really surprised that I had enough energy at the end. I had to tell myself that I could do it during the race.”
Following a discussion with her coach, Hulse found out she would be racing with the top runners of the group. Hulse said she was surprised to find herself amongst the race’s leaders.
“[I was] nervous because the coach told me that I was able to go with the top runners of the group,” she said. “It just seemed so easy [during the race]. I was running with them but I didn’t know how I was doing it.”
After a disappointing rookie season where illness took Hulse out for the majority of the season, she said this race in particular was about gaining confidence.
“Last year I was dragging myself around [the course],” she said. “I wanted to have a good race to redeem myself.”
—Kate Bascom
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