Frozen Four: Silye returns to the East coast with championship hopes
Minnesota State sophomore forward David Silye is just your normal hockey guy from Canada, but his journey back to the East coast is a special one.
Silye began his hockey career in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), two years with the Penticton Vees and two with the Nanaimo Clippers. His time playing hockey did not remain solely in Canada, however, where Silye often made trips to the United States with his family.
“We’d go down quite often to New England and Boston to play some hockey tournaments. But this experience, playing at the Garden, is second to none.”
After his time in the BCHL, Silye committed to the University of Clarkson where he played in 17 games and recorded three assists in those games. Following the 2020-21 season, Silye had to make a tough choice to enter the transfer portal, as it was not guaranteed he would get a spot in the starting lineup the following season.
“At the end of the year there were six centermen coming back, and there really was not room for me to be there,” said Silye. “I decided to enter the portal late last summer at the end of June and found a nice home here at MSU.”
A nice home it has been for the Clarkson transfer, who has increased his output this season substantially. Silye has tallied seven goals and eight assists up to this point in the season and will look to continue adding on to his 15-point total in the Frozen Four.
Three of Silye’s seven goals came during Minnesota State’s Hockey Day Minnesota game at Blakeslee Stadium, where Silye earned the first star of the game for his hat trick.
“Being able to score a hat trick was pretty cool, but I have to thank my teammates for that one,” said Silye with a laugh. “After my third goal I took a look up at the crowd and heard them chanting the ‘Ole’ song and that was super cool.”
Now it is off to Boston for the Ontario native, where he will return to his freshman stomping grounds on the East coast of the United States. Silye played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference as a member of Clarkson, which is also the conference home to MSU’s first round matchup, Harvard.
Although Silye has played and visited the East coast of the U.S. for hockey, he is counting on his teammates to show him around.
“As far as sight-seeing, I think the guys will be showing me more than I’ll be showing them,” said Silye with a laugh. “I’m really excited to go down there and feel the environment. I’ve heard Boston is a great city.”
The Mavericks are set to play the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the Frozen Four. The two teams met in the Loveland Regional finals last year, where the Mavs beat the Gophers 4-0 to advance to the 2021 Frozen Four in Pittsburg.
Despite losing senior goaltender and captain Jack LaFontaine to the NHL following last season’s end, the Gophers have maintained their success. Minnesota brings a 26-12-0 overall record into the Frozen Four matchup, but it is the regional vicinity of the two teams that makes the matchup most exciting.
“We saw the Gophers last year in the tournament. Being so close, it is going to create a cool rivalry,” said Silye.
Preparation has officially begun at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. and the Mavericks are more ready than ever to return to the ice for another shot at a Division I National Championship.
“We’re all jacked up and all four lines are going,” said Silye. “All four lines contributed two weekends ago and we are moving in a positive direction and everyone is super excited to finally play on Thursday.”
Header Photo: Sophomore forward David Silye at the Mavericks’ practice the day before the beginning of the 2022 Frozen Four in Boston. (Mansoor Ahmad/The Reporter)