Mark Goggin ’09 Represents USA Hockey Choate Ice Hockey Star Takes on Europeans
By Ben Millard ’10
News Staff Writer
Three weeks ago, Choate’s Mark Goggin ’09 was selected to play for the National U-18 Ice Hockey team for the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia. Goggin’s skating and stick skills distinguished him from the rest of the hockey players in the nation, and allowed him to be invited to join this prestigious honor to represent his country against some of Europe’s best junior national hockey teams.
Decision Making
Goggin’s reasoning behind his decision to leave his Choate team was very simple. When asked why he made the decision to play for the U-18 team and miss two games for Choate, he responded, “Well, it’s cool to represent your country. To play for team USA, it’s a pretty great thing to do. I’m excited about it.” As it is well known, Choate hockey has been on the verge of a playoff berth all season. With Goggin’s absence, the question of whether the team will make it to the playoffs or not was on many people’s mind. He did not think his absence would be a loss to the team. “They’ll be fine. I mean, they won agaisnt Deerfield without me, and they tied today (Wednesday, January 30th) against Hotchkiss without me, so they’ll be fine,” said Goggin. “Hopefully we can keep it up, and start winning some games.” His confidence held firm with the team, as they won their Wednesday, February 6th game against Pomfret 5-1, but lost the following Saturday, game against Westminster 5-3, which left the team with a 10-7-3 record.
Goggin not only represented America’s up and coming hockey players, he represented Choate hockey as well. While playing in Slovakia, he faced teams from Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Slovakia. His game plan was simply and straightforward, “Go out there and play, and try to win gold.” The US National team’s prominence around the world of hockey brought much attention to Goggin’s performance. “This tournament is really important to me,” he stated. “Obviously, I live for playing hockey. It’s my favorite sport. It’s my favorite thing to do.” As for being chosen to play for this prestigious team, Goggin said, “It’s awesome to be recognized, I am excited about it.” He had the opportunity and sense of gaining national pride for playing with the U-18 team. “It’s a great feeling having the chance to play for USA, and it was fun. But, I will miss two Choate games, which is a bummer, which I really am going to miss because we are in a playoff push right now. Like I said before, the team is going to be fine without me, but it would be fun to be there.”
The Tournament
Team USA had an impressive showing at the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament, placing second with a record of 2-1. In the national team’s first game, they played against Germany on Thursday, February 7th, and won 3-2. In fact, Goggin scored the winning goal at the 17:24 minute mark in the third period, assisted by A.J. Treais, from Michigan. In the second game, Team USA beat Switzerland, with a score of 4-2. Goggin was credited with an assist on the first goal. With the two wins, Team USA advanced to the finals and faced Slovakia on Saturday, February 9th. Team USA lost the final 7-3, and finished the tournament in second place in the tournament with a record of 2-1. This result was the first time in the last three years that Team USA did not win the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament.
Mark returned to Choate from Slovakia on Sunday, February 11th. Mark described playing in the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament as, “a lot of fun, good competition, good hockey, and a good time.” When asked about how Team USA did, Mark stated, “We lost in the gold medal game to Slovakia. We should have won, but you know what happens.” Goggin described his time with Team USA as “a great experience. It was a lot of fun, with great group of guys. It feels good.” With his performance at the Dzurilla Tournament deciding whether or not he will be asked to join the U-18 World Championship team, Mark felt, “I’m in the mix now, and if it happens it would be great.”
Goggin was able to show his talent in a world stage. “I’m trying to play for the U-18 world championship team, which is coming up, and if I play well this weekend, I’ll probably get a shot to do that. That would be fun,” he said.
Mark Goggin ’09 , third from the left (#93), lines up for the national anthem during the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament. Contributed PHOTO
