Gazzola goes out on top
Randy Gazzola couldn’t have dreamt of a better way to end his university hockey career.
The 25-year-old Thorold native wrapped up his time with the University of New Brunswick Reds recently with another title after the Reds topped the Alberta Golden Bears 4-2 to claim the U SPORTS national men’s hockey championship.
If that wasn’t enough, Gazzola was also named the winner of the prestigious Dr. Randy Gregg Award.
The Gregg Award is presented annually by U SPORTS to reward excellence in the student-athlete. The Canadian University ice hockey player who receives this award has exhibited outstanding achievement in ice hockey, academics, and community involvement.
“It was a good week for me,” the former Thorold Blackhawk said modestly.
Winning and Gazzola seem to go hand in hand.
“It’s the second time I did it (going out with a title),” he said. “I did it in junior. We won the President’s Cup and got to the Memorial Cup which was a great accomplishment.
“I’ve seen other guys do it and being my last year you want to leave a legacy and do all you can and make sure the program is in a better place than you left it.”
The championship was the program’s third in five years.
“It was definitely exciting. It was enjoyable,” Gazzola said. “For the guys who have been there with me for four or five years, to look back at what we accomplished, five years and five medals, I don’t think it’s ever been done by any men’s hockey program and three of those being national championships.”
Gazzola said he took particular pride in this championship.
“It’s exciting stuff, especially this last one,” he said. “I was a big part of the recruiting. The coach valued my opinion. What we do at UNB is get good guys who buy in quick and that’s what makes a championship team. You get the right guys clicking at the right time and want to come every day and work hard. I made some sacrifices this year.
“We come to the rink every day and try and make a difference as much as possible. It could be a teammate or someone in the community. It was that mindset of trying to get better every day and having the right guys to push you to get better. The ego is out the door and see what happens.”
Gazzola had another solid season with the Reds collecting three goals and 20 points in 24 regular season games while compiling a plus-26.
“I sacrificed a little bit of ice time here and there for the young guys,” he said. “What’s cool is when you look at the alumni and when they come back and get so excited at the program’s success. It makes it special. It’s cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
“I’ve been fortunate.”
Gazzola said the winning the Dr. Randy Gregg award was a bonus.
“That was something I was nominated for in the past and I wasn’t selected last year,” he said. “You do the right things on and off the ice. Take care of the schoolwork and yourself and take care of people around the community. We get a lot of requests for UNB players to go volunteer and it’s something we do think twice about so it makes it really easy to see that we’re trying to give back and make significant difference.
“One coach told me it was the most coveted award in hockey. I didn’t realize it. It was like a cherry on top of the national championship.”
Gazzola, who completed his Master of Business Administration degree in December, will graduate with his class in May. He recently signed with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL and is slated to make his pro debut Friday.
“I was hoping to get a call from the American League. I had a couple of calls but I’ve only heard good things about Toledo and the organization,” he said. “I got the degree out of the way. I can do and have some fun and play some hockey and see where things go.
“I want to play in the American Hockey League. I’ve never gone the most conventional way so I’m going to have to prove myself at this level and then move up and see how things go.”
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