Baldwinsville native and Boston College sophomore Alex Tuch was a huge part of the Eagles winning the NCAA Northeast Regional and to the 25th Frozen Four in program history before they fell to Quinnipiac.
He cut a 2-0 Bobcat lead with his 18th goal of the season just 23 seconds into the second period and had four shots on goal in the team’s final game. With his 16 assists, that gave him 33 points.
“Yeah, we were a little nervous in the first period, Tuch said about the semi-final. “We are a pretty young team. Half our team has been here and half our team hasn’t. A little bit different situation. Coach (Jerry) York just came in and said we have to keep battling, get down on pucks, be a lot simpler and just start our work. I think we really did in the second and third.”
“We tried to battle back, so I thought we did a good job turning the game around a little bit.”
A first round pick by Minnesota in 2014, Tuch is a product of the U.S. National Development Program where he was the second leading scorer. Prior to that he played travel hockey in the Syracuse area before going the junior hockey route at 15 years old with the Syracuse Stars.
This year the 6’4”, 220 lb. right wing has stepped up his contributions. One reason the Wild projects him in the NHL moving forward is using his large frame to screen the goaltender—especially with the man-advantage—along with his work along the boards.
“Slow start for me production wise, but I played a little more aggressive and a little more power forward style and I think that really helped my second half of the year.”
Boston College was always on his radar since he was young.
“I remember watching them in the 2001 national championship game—I remember the gold jerseys—so that was something I always looked forward to.
“Going to the Frozen Four is something I always wanted to do as a kid, so I was very excited and honored to be a part of it.”
