QU Men's Ice Hockey's Karlis Cukste Reflects On World Junior Championship Experience
1/12/2017 3:44:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
by Tyler Brosious, Special to QuinnipiacBobcats.com
When Karlis Cukste donned his Latvian jersey the day after Christmas and stepped onto the ice for the first-round game of the 2017 World Junior Championship, he was just the first Bobcat to represent Quinnipiac University at the prestigious hockey tournament.
For Cukste, even with his country not taking home the gold medal, the defenseman still had an extremely successful experience.
"Representing my country was really cool. It's a huge honor to represent my country." Cukste said about experience, "It wasn't my first time, but every single time you go there, you see all the guys, you wear that jersey and it's just a special feeling."
The freshman dazzled on the ice, striking for a goal and two assists while playing all six games in the tournament as the team's assistant captain.
The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round draft pick finished the tournament tied for second on the Latvian team in points (3) and was tied for first overall in assists (2) during the six-game stretch.
"It's a feeling of great honor." Cukste said about wearing the Latvian jersey, "Everywhere I have played, even at Quinnipiac. I wear that jersey with pride, I try to do all the things right to try and help the team that I am playing for and that's what I tried to do at World Juniors."
Cukste netted one of Latvia's five goals over the tournament during a 4-2 loss against Slovakia when he gathered the puck near the offensive blue line and struck with a hard slap shot from the point. After making its way through a few bodies in front of the goal, the puck found the back of the net as Cukste put Latvia out in front 1-0.
"Somehow it went through. It was a little lucky goal but, I mean, it counts." Cukste said of his goal, "It was a special feeling."
The Riga, Latvia native returned to the Bobcats blue line this past weekend to play against ECAC Hockey foes Harvard and Dartmouth to start up his second half of his freshman year.
He'll look build on a strong first half of the season that saw Cukste strike for four goals and five assists for nine points over a 21-game stretch. Additionally, Cukste leads the Bobcats with 42 blocked shots – a number that sits second behind St. Lawrence's Eric Sweetman's 48 - and is one of only three players to average two-or-more blocked shots per game.
"It's nice to have. We certainly haven't had a lot of players play in the WJC. It was nice to have Karlis go." Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold, "I think as we continue to get better and improve our national standing we will get more and more of those kids participating in the tournament. I just think it was a nice honor to go and represent Quinnipiac and his country. He did really well too."
Tyler Brosious is a senior journalism major in Quinnipiac's School of Communication and the newest feature writer for QuinnipiacBobcats.com. For all the news, studentathlete features and updates on Quinnipiac Athletics, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com or follow on Twitter @QUAthletics
When Karlis Cukste donned his Latvian jersey the day after Christmas and stepped onto the ice for the first-round game of the 2017 World Junior Championship, he was just the first Bobcat to represent Quinnipiac University at the prestigious hockey tournament.
For Cukste, even with his country not taking home the gold medal, the defenseman still had an extremely successful experience.
"Representing my country was really cool. It's a huge honor to represent my country." Cukste said about experience, "It wasn't my first time, but every single time you go there, you see all the guys, you wear that jersey and it's just a special feeling."
The freshman dazzled on the ice, striking for a goal and two assists while playing all six games in the tournament as the team's assistant captain.
The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round draft pick finished the tournament tied for second on the Latvian team in points (3) and was tied for first overall in assists (2) during the six-game stretch.
"It's a feeling of great honor." Cukste said about wearing the Latvian jersey, "Everywhere I have played, even at Quinnipiac. I wear that jersey with pride, I try to do all the things right to try and help the team that I am playing for and that's what I tried to do at World Juniors."
Cukste netted one of Latvia's five goals over the tournament during a 4-2 loss against Slovakia when he gathered the puck near the offensive blue line and struck with a hard slap shot from the point. After making its way through a few bodies in front of the goal, the puck found the back of the net as Cukste put Latvia out in front 1-0.
"Somehow it went through. It was a little lucky goal but, I mean, it counts." Cukste said of his goal, "It was a special feeling."
The Riga, Latvia native returned to the Bobcats blue line this past weekend to play against ECAC Hockey foes Harvard and Dartmouth to start up his second half of his freshman year.
He'll look build on a strong first half of the season that saw Cukste strike for four goals and five assists for nine points over a 21-game stretch. Additionally, Cukste leads the Bobcats with 42 blocked shots – a number that sits second behind St. Lawrence's Eric Sweetman's 48 - and is one of only three players to average two-or-more blocked shots per game.
"It's nice to have. We certainly haven't had a lot of players play in the WJC. It was nice to have Karlis go." Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold, "I think as we continue to get better and improve our national standing we will get more and more of those kids participating in the tournament. I just think it was a nice honor to go and represent Quinnipiac and his country. He did really well too."
Tyler Brosious is a senior journalism major in Quinnipiac's School of Communication and the newest feature writer for QuinnipiacBobcats.com. For all the news, studentathlete features and updates on Quinnipiac Athletics, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com or follow on Twitter @QUAthletics
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