Stoneham, Mass. native junior Nick Feliciano said he has grown up on the ice. At the young age of six years old, Feliciano was on the ice, accrediting this to his father.
Feliciano mentioned the importance of friends and family in regards to hockey. “Hockey is very important…playing in front of fans and family means so much to them, it means even more to me,” he said.
Now a member of KSC’s club ice hockey team, Feliciano has put up 11 goals in the first three games of the Keene State men’s hockey season, scoring six in their season opener on Sept. 30 against Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).
So far, the hockey team has had many victories this season. Feliciano has been a large part of their success, but he does not attribute the success to himself. “This team is special, we are a family filled with skilled players. We are all on the same page, everyone has each other’s backs,” he said.
Bringing a national championship back to Keene is the main priority to Feliciano and the rest of the team. “We are taking it very seriously, we all want to win a national championship this year, our minds are set on that goal,” he said.
Feliciano mentioned that hockey has played a large part in shaping him into who he is.
“Without hockey, I wouldn’t be where I am today, I would not be at Keene State without it,” he said. “It has shaped me into a better person, it has taught me leadership skills and social skills. Most importantly, it’s fun to play, I have met so many friends through this sport.” Men’s hockey head coach Bobby Rodrigue gave high praise to Feliciano and his line for its versatility.
“His line has been very defensively responsible which is huge. I’ll imagine if he keeps putting up numbers then he will start to get more attention from other teams,” Rodrigue stated. Rodrigue said that Keene State features a lot of players with amazing personalities, and Feliciano does not shy away from that attribute.
“Nick is a really funny kid,” Rodrigue said. “One of the things that the coacheshave noticed about him is that he lookslike he’s having a lot of fun while playing right now, which could lead to
the question of, is he having fun because he’s having success or is he having success because he’s having fun.”
Rodrigue noted that Feliciano is much more than a hockey player, supporting his teammates on and off the ice. “If guys are making mistakes and if players aren’t at their very best, everyone seems to be supporting each other and Nick is a large part of that,” he said.
Michael LaPerriere can be contacted at
mlaperriere@kscequinox.com
