Austin Plevy grew up knowing exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life: to play hockey. The freshman standout from Langley, British Columbia, accomplished a lot on his way to joining the Massachusetts hockey team, where he has been an impressive young player for the Minutemen.

“I started playing when I was around four or five, I had an uncle who was a power skating coach so he’s a major reason why a got into it,” Plevy said.

Before college, the freshman played two seasons with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he totaled 157 points in over 104 career games. He then went on to spend portions of five seasons in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, racking up 174 points (65 goals, 109 assists) in 204 regular season games.

Though his college career did not start at UMass (he transferred from Merrimack just a few weeks into his freshman year), Plevy feels as though he finally found his place.

“There were more personal reasons why I decided to transfer,” he said. “I visited UMass and loved the campus, loved the coaches and I liked all the facilities we have here. I knew I was going to have opportunities coming in as a freshman, so it seemed like a good spot for me.”

In October, Plevy was awarded the NCAA Star of the Week  along with Hockey East Rookie of the Week and Co-UMass Athlete of the Week.

Through 14 games, Plevy is tied for second on the team in scoring with six goals and seven assists. His 13 points leave him tied for eighth in the country in freshman scoring.

Plevy, like most college hockey players, hopes to continue his hockey career by reaching the NHL. He plans to graduate with a degree in marketing, in case the NHL doesn’t work out,

“I think about it all the time: my mom and dad in the stands and I score my first NHL goal, so that’s the dream that motivates me.”

Mollie Walker can be reached at [email protected].