Starting the spring strong, Latronica shines in Kentucky
by Kaylee Herndon (Jan. 21, 2020)
New year, new me has taken on a serious meaning for Millersville’s Nik Latronica. The 5’6 forward from West Milford, NJ has broken his team
season-high points record only halfway through the season (5pts).
During the team’s 1,130 mile round-trip to Kentucky to kick off the spring semester, Latronica tallied two goals in three games. The goals put him on track to double his points from the previous semester, where he tallied three points in two consecutive games in November (1g, 2a).
“Crossing over from the fall to the spring semester I set a goal for myself that I wanted to make an impact in the back half of the season...” Latronica said. “I want to help contribute and continually be the hardest worker on the ice! The staple of my game is hard work, grit, and doing whatever is asked of me to help the team be that much better.”
Latronica opened the scoring for Millersville in the second period of their 2-6 loss to University of Louisville on Jan. 16. Jacob Shugar slid the puck to Griffin Helm who’s shot from the right circle was blocked. Latronica took possession of the rebound tapped it past Reu’s right skate.
His second goal of the weekend came midway through the first period of the team’s 3-8 loss to the University of Kentucky on Jan. 17. An errant Kentucky pass landed on Latronica’s stick and he shot the puck from the top of the left circle underneath the arm of Jeff Ison.
While at Millersville Latronica’s stats have progressively improved. His first season on the team he finished the season pointless (2017-18). In 2018-19, Latronica tallied a goal and an assist.
“This year I've felt like I've really improved as a player,” Latronica explained. “The coaches have worked with me to improve my positioning and helped me build around my play style so I am able to be in the right places at the right times.”
Latronica’s pregame ritual has followed him into the new year, though.
“When someone, most notably goalie Garret Baldacci, comes up to me and says ‘How we feelin Ramen?’ and I'd let out a loud roar! It's something fun we started around this time last year and it carried on ever since,” Latronica said.
Latronica and the rest of the Millersville squad will be back on home ice on Friday, Jan. 24 to faceoff against Rider University at 9:00 p.m.
New year, new me has taken on a serious meaning for Millersville’s Nik Latronica. The 5’6 forward from West Milford, NJ has broken his team
season-high points record only halfway through the season (5pts).
During the team’s 1,130 mile round-trip to Kentucky to kick off the spring semester, Latronica tallied two goals in three games. The goals put him on track to double his points from the previous semester, where he tallied three points in two consecutive games in November (1g, 2a).
“Crossing over from the fall to the spring semester I set a goal for myself that I wanted to make an impact in the back half of the season...” Latronica said. “I want to help contribute and continually be the hardest worker on the ice! The staple of my game is hard work, grit, and doing whatever is asked of me to help the team be that much better.”
Latronica opened the scoring for Millersville in the second period of their 2-6 loss to University of Louisville on Jan. 16. Jacob Shugar slid the puck to Griffin Helm who’s shot from the right circle was blocked. Latronica took possession of the rebound tapped it past Reu’s right skate.
His second goal of the weekend came midway through the first period of the team’s 3-8 loss to the University of Kentucky on Jan. 17. An errant Kentucky pass landed on Latronica’s stick and he shot the puck from the top of the left circle underneath the arm of Jeff Ison.
While at Millersville Latronica’s stats have progressively improved. His first season on the team he finished the season pointless (2017-18). In 2018-19, Latronica tallied a goal and an assist.
“This year I've felt like I've really improved as a player,” Latronica explained. “The coaches have worked with me to improve my positioning and helped me build around my play style so I am able to be in the right places at the right times.”
Latronica’s pregame ritual has followed him into the new year, though.
“When someone, most notably goalie Garret Baldacci, comes up to me and says ‘How we feelin Ramen?’ and I'd let out a loud roar! It's something fun we started around this time last year and it carried on ever since,” Latronica said.
Latronica and the rest of the Millersville squad will be back on home ice on Friday, Jan. 24 to faceoff against Rider University at 9:00 p.m.