Kyle Lockwood ’14 is often one of the biggest players on the ice. With line mates Rob MacGregor ’13 and Rob Toczylowski ’13, the Bowdoin second shift specializes in physical mismatches. The size of the line—the three player’s average height is 6-feet-2-inches and 202 pounds—gives Bowdoin a depth that other teams cannot boast. It also allows the team to wear its opponents down, just as it did against Hamilton last Saturday, scoring three goals in the final eight minutes to spark a dramatic comeback.
Lockwood had his stick in four goals in that game, scoring three on his own and assisting Toczylowski on the game-winner. He also scored both goals in the home playoff-clinching win over Connecticut College a week earlier.
Still, despite his presence on the ice, Lockwood has developed a reputation as one of the quietest team members off of it. The steady, modest forward shrugs off his own success without thinking.
“I was sort of just in the right place at the right time,” he said of what Head Coach Terry Meagher called one of the best individual game performances he’s seen at Bowdoin.
“Plus, I got a lot of help from my teammates and particularly my linemates. And I got a couple of empty-netters.”
Meagher laughed at this modesty.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’d expect from Kyle,” he said. “Of course, I’ll have to ask him, ‘Why do you think you were on the ice then anyway?’”
According to teammate Max Fenkell ’15, it is because “he has a knack for the net.”
“Most of his goals are scored in the dark areas, which aren’t always the nicest looking, but are the kind of goals that any team needs this time of year,” said Fenkell.
And as the season wound down, he finally started taking the initiative to do so more often.
“[He’s] definitely a playmaker,” Ollie Koo ’14 said. “He would normally think to pass first as opposed to taking the shot himself.”
Coach Meagher sees that mindset as an extension of his personality.
“He’s not selfish,” he said. “Goal scorers have to have a degree of selfishness. He needs to put more pucks on net.”
“But really, he’s the quintessential player,” he added. “He’s always saying ‘Hi Coach, how’s your day going?’ He competes hard within the rules of the game, and he’s the type to sit quietly in the back of a room enjoying what he’s just accomplished.”
Lockwood, a Connecticut native, started his hockey career as many do. He began skating around age three or four at the urging of his father, and played two years for his public high school before enrolling at the Berkshire School. He repeated his sophomore year hoping to get some experience and increase his knowledge of the game. His recent breakout had been highly anticipated by the coaching staff, since, like many players, he was limited by injuries last year.
He came to Bowdoin after a successful visit where he connected with the coaching staff. He anticipated majoring in economics and has maintained that focus, though he has also picked up an earth and oceanographic science major.
“You know, I took a class with Professor Ed Lane—one of my favorite professors,” he explained. “It was the earthquakes and volcanoes course, which I imagine a lot of people have taken. But then I took a 100-level and went from there. There are great professors in that department.”
True to form, Lockwood holds his highest praise for others—even in the classroom—but as Bowdoin looks to cap its best season in 25 years with a championship, the team ideally will need an explosive performance worthy of his own praise.
The sports editor of the Orient chooses the Athlete of the Week based on exemplary performance.