Following its tough loss against Boston University in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament last season, the Northeastern men’s ice hockey team is eager to go further this year – and one of the stars leading them is Vinny Borgesi.
The junior defenseman and assistant captain has helped lead the team since last year. It’s a rarity for an underclassman to be named as an assistant captain.
“Honestly, I didn’t know it was going to be me,” Borgesi said. “Obviously, I think it’s something that I take a lot of pride in, but it’s also my natural ability. I think I do a great job of using my voice, being a leader, trying to help guys become better — not only on the ice, but off the ice.”
Captain Jack Williams, a junior forward, said he could “split the C,” as in “captain,” with Borgesi.
“We work really well together. He’s very vocal. He’s a good leader [and] he works really, really hard,” Williams said.
All good players have to start somewhere, and for Borgesi, it was on figure skates.
Borgesi began playing hockey at three years old on figure skates. He was almost five when he changed to hockey skates, a special memory he recalls clearly.
Slowly growing more serious about the sport, Borgesi was a freshman in high school when he began the recruitment process for Northeastern.
“[I] saw him playing in a couple tournaments up this way. You could just tell he was the first thing that stuck out, he was an elite skater,” head coach Jerry Keefe said. “He was just dynamic. It seemed like he had the puck on his stick the whole game. …You could tell he was going to be a special player from the time he was 14 years old.”
As a freshman, Borgesi appeared in the majority of Northeastern’s games, only missing two. In these games, he garnered nine assists, ranking third among defensemen. In addition to playing for the Huskies, he also attended the Las Vegas Golden Knights development camp.
Last season, Borgesi earned career-highs in goals and assists. Among all of Hockey East, his 14 assists tied for fourth among all defensemen, and his 16 points landed him tied for fifth.
Although he earned these records last season, Borgesi continues to focus on becoming a better player in the present.
“I honestly don’t really look at it as beating the points,” Borgesi said. “Something that I’ve been working on is just to not look too much in the future. Obviously, just stay level-headed. Come to the rink, work hard every single day, get better and focus on yourself. I think, honestly, if I do that, the end result is going to be something that I like.”
“He’s a really driven kid,” Keefe said. “He’s a guy that feeds off his emotions. He’s a really intense kid and the thing with him is he wants to be a difference maker when he’s on the ice. That’s in his DNA.”
Maintaining good energy on and off the ice is an easy task for Borgesi, as he is just being himself.
“It’s natural for me. I am a loud guy. … Being vocal, being positive [and] holding guys accountable. I think that just generates energy itself,” Borgesi said.
So far this season, the Huskies are 1-2-1, 0-1-1 HE, following back-to-back losses to the reigning national championships and number one team in the country, University of Denver. Although these were tough losses, it was a “good test for us,” Keefe said.
As the Huskies take on the rest of their season, assistant captain Borgesi will continue to use his voice to help lead his team.
“The most impactful thing I can do is obviously my attitude and effort each and every day,” Borgesi said. “That’s something that I can control. That’s something that I work hard for each and every day.”
The Huntington News is dedicated to serving the Northeastern University community with original, professional reporting and creating an environment in which student journalists can learn from one another. Support an independent, free press at Northeastern University with your donation today.
