Ahead of the 2018-19 season, New England Hockey Journal caught up with Holy Cross senior forward Peter Crinella, a native of East Longmeadow, Mass.
He has 33 points across 94 career games, improving his production level each year under head coach David Berard. He's come a long way since joining the Crusaders straight out of Cathedral High School (Springfield, Mass.), and now has an Atlantic Hockey title in his crosshairs.
To learn more about Crinella, check out the interview below.
NEHJ: How would you describe yourself as a player? Are there any NHL players you emulate?
Crinella: “Power forward. I’m a little bigger and stronger on my feet than most guys, so I like to work a lot down low. I’m always around the net and that’s where I score. The majority of my goals are kind of dirty goals, but I also have a bit of skill when there’s a little bit of open space. I always tried to emulate Rick Nash because he’s fast, strong and really good around the net. I tried to play a lot like him when I was younger and that kind of transformed into seeing other guys now, like Anders Lee. I really try to play like some of those bigger guys.”
NEHJ: Coming into this year, what is your biggest personal goal? What’s impressed you about the team as a whole?
Crinella: "I’ve almost doubled my point production over each of my first three years and just tried to get better. I had a pretty good year (6-12-18 in 36 games) last year, but you can always do better. We lost a lot of good forwards, so I want to increase my scoring output again because we’re going to need my offensive abilities this year more than the last couple.
“As a team, we’re looking good. We have a lot of young guys, but once you think about it, we have a lot of older guys that have been around the block with the program for a while. Coach (David) Berard has done an unbelievable job creating a culture and we’ve adopted that since we’ve been with him for three years now. We’re very top-heavy in that sense, but we have a great coach, culture and leaders on the team. “
NEHJ: You mentioned all the positives Coach has brought to the program in just a short time. What is it like to play for him?
Crinella: “It’s been unbelievable. We’ve kind of grown together. I came into Holy Cross right out of high school, so I was pretty fresh with all of the coaching and it was just a different style of hockey. Coach has done an awesome job getting us prepared, and we like to say that we’re the most prepared team in the league and in the country. Every day in practice, we’re all getting better. Coach has created a culture of winning hockey. We’re here to be the best hockey players that we can be and Coach has really allowed us to do that.”
NEHJ: Your path from high school straight to college hockey is not that common. What was the biggest challenge in that?
Crinella: “The speed and strength from playing high school hockey in Massachusetts was an obvious change. It was a big adjustment. The skill is obviously way better than it was before, but I kind of looked at it as an opportunity to develop and grow. My freshman year, one of my linemates for most of the year was five years older than me. It was kind of cool that I was able to handle that as an 18-year-old because our league is a little bit grittier than most. But coming here this early was the best decision I’ve made. It was awesome.”
NEHJ: What is your favorite hockey memory?
Crinella: “I remember watching the Bruins win the (2011) Stanley Cup with my dad. That was pretty special. It was just us down in our basement. I remember the feeling; it’s obviously my team, my favorite team, and the Stanley Cup is something everyone wants to accomplish in their playing career. But winning any championship is special. That stood out to me as one of the coolest things. My neighbor was Frank Vatrano. And my brother, Frank, was a really good baseball and hockey player. My greatest memories were playing in my backyard or my basement with them, so that was really cool.”
NEHJ: What is it like to see what Frank Vatrano has done so far in his career? How much have you learned from him?
Crinella: “It's unbelievable. He lives probably 10 houses down from me, so he's around sometimes when I go back in the summer. When he was injured last year, he came to a couple Holy Cross games. We've kept in touch through his career. It's pretty cool to watch him on the ice, but he's still the same guy off the ice that he was 15 years ago when we were hanging out and having sleepovers. To see what he's done, it's an inspiration to all of us as hockey players from western Massachusetts. He's totally changed the way his lifestyle is; physically and mentally, he's just done an unbelievable job. As players, we strive to be like him and try to replicate what he's done in the weight room. He's been a great role model.”
NEHJ: How has baseball influenced your life? (Crinella played for four years at Cathedral, and his brother has played professionally in that sport in the Baltimore Orioles organization.)
Crinella: “I come from a really big baseball family. My dad is a big baseball guy, so I always grew up playing hockey during hockey season and baseball during baseball season. It was good and bad. I'd be a little rustier than most of the guys at the beginning of hockey season. It was a little tough, but it all worked out.
"One of my greatest memories was my freshman year of high school. During hockey season, I was able to work my way up on the first line with my brother. We had an unbelievable playoff series and ended up leading our team to the Super 8. It was such a great memory to be able to skate with him like that in my career. Later that year, he was the star shortstop and I was the young, lean and lanky third baseman, so we were able to start that year on the infield together. We kind of grew from there. He obviously went on to do great things at Merrimack and I just tried to keep up with him. One year, he was Player of the Year and I wouldn't get an award. Then the next year I'd get one and he'd get an All-American. With all that, there was friendly competition and I'd say it bonded us together.”
Key Facts
Teams: Holy Cross; Cathedral High School (Springfield, Mass.)
Hometown: East Longmeadow, Mass.
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Major: Economics
Favorites
Pregame meal: Chicken and rice
Favorite opposing rink: “I love playing against AIC because I get to have the hometown crowd there.”
Food: Lobster
Vacation spot: Cape Cod
Musician: U2
Song: “All the guys know, it’s ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2.”
Actor/actress: Will Ferrell
TV show: “The Office”
Book: “The Book Thief”
Video game: “Fortnite is big right now.”
Sport other than hockey: Baseball
Sports team: Boston Red Sox
NHL player: Frank Vatrano
Non-hockey athlete: “Tom Brady, of course.”
Article of clothing: “I’m a big quarter-zip guy.”
Equipment
Stick: Bauer
Helmet: Bauer
Gloves: Bauer
Skates: Bauer
