Mike Cuozzo found himself in a tough spot. He was in net as Syracuse men’s ice hockey attempted to kill a 5-on-3 powerplay for Niagara.

A shot came flying at Cuozzo, who moved to make the save. The puck deflected right back to a Niagara player. The ensuing shot soared toward the now-open net, but Cuozzo was able to put his stick up in a last ditch effort. Again, he made the save.

Plays like that are only part of the reason Cuozzo has found success in his first season as the primary starter for Syracuse.

“He has that ability to make those desperation saves,” head coach Nick Pierandri said, “but 90 percent of the time you’re going to see him getting consistent and square to the puck.”

Cuozzo, a junior, grew up in North Caldwell, New Jersey, where his mom first put him on skates at 4 years old. Because of where he lived, attended school with many children of New Jersey Devils players. His interest in playing goalie came from playing street hockey with the son of one of the greatest goalies of all-time, Martin Brodeur. It didn’t take long for Cuozzo to fall in love with the position and the responsibility it involves. So far at Syracuse, he has shined as the lead goaltender for an Orange team (11-4) off to a strong start.

“I think I do well under pressure,” he said. “I kind of enjoy being the guy that backstops the team, the guy that everyone has to depend on. Making big saves and giving the team a chance to win is exciting for me. So I just enjoy, not the spotlight really, but I enjoy being the guy that can be that rock for the team.”

Cuozzo won a state championship at West Essex (New Jersey) High School, but wanted to play more competitive hockey. He ended up repeating his junior year at Salisbury (Connecticut) School where he played for two years. From there, he was goalie for another two years with the Jersey Hitmen, a junior hockey team, before coming to Syracuse.

Pierandri, an alumni of the Salisbury School, liked what he was hearing about Cuozzo.

“Mike was on a championship team in New Jersey and then went to Salisbury and was on a championship team,” Pierandri said. “So I knew he knows the right culture.”

Cuozzo’s coach for the Jersey Hitmen encouraged him to check out Syracuse. Cuozzo himself didn’t know anything about Syracuse’s club ice hockey team until he watched a game, he said. Once he toured campus, he said, he was all in.

After being a backup his freshman year and splitting time at goalie last season, Cuozzo has been the clear starter his junior year. He has a 6-2-1 record with 240 saves and a .899 save percentage. Still, Pierandri isn’t concerned much by numbers.

“I don’t like to look at the statistics,” Pierandri said. “I just want to see consistent performance. I want to see him making big saves when we need them and I want to see him making the saves that he needs to make for our team to be successful.”

A steady hand is something Syracuse center Trip Franzese looks for in a good goalie. Franzese understands lots of goalies can make a flashy save and seem impressive, but what is different about Cuozzo is he makes all the saves he should be making. To be consistent, it takes more than just physical skills and hard work, Couzzo said.

One of the hardest parts of being a good goalie, Cuozzo said, is being able to “reset yourself” after giving up a goal. He’s always talking to himself and using positive reinforcement. He wants to stay in the moment, he said.

“The consistency is what teams need,” Franzese said, “and it’s what he’s providing.”

Despite his early success, Cuozzo’s job is not safe. There’s existing competition, he said, between himself and fellow goalies Eric Parker and Jake Kahler. Cuozzo said it helps all of them play their best.

“I’ve played on teams where the goalies, we all hated each other; it was almost a toxic environment,” he said. “I remember back in juniors it was kind of like that. We literally hated each other so much. But it’s not like that at all on this team.”

At the end of the past two seasons, Cuozzo remembered watching his teammates cry. It was likely the end of their hockey careers, as they would soon graduate. Seeing that, and being there for teammates, Cuozzo said, helps the team stay close.

Cuozzo’s believes his hockey career will likely end with the Orange. But for the remainder of Cuozzo’s time at Syracuse, the team believes he’ll be the primary goalie.

“You need a goalie that you can rely on,” Franzese said. “When you’re unsure of your goalie, or when a goalie lets in soft goals or goals that they really shouldn’t let in, it kind of deflates the team. He’s provided us with someone that hasn’t done that this year. He’s someone that when he makes the saves he needs to make, it allows the rest of the team to have room to breathe.”

Published on December 3, 2017 at 7:35 pm

Contact Eric: estorms@syr.edu