{"id":144383,"date":"2024-01-11T15:22:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T21:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=144383"},"modified":"2024-01-11T16:07:38","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T22:07:38","slug":"trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/","title":{"rendered":"Trine\u2019s Kozma grateful for decision to play goalie"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Kyle Kozma is in his second season of playing hockey for Trine. (Photo Credit: Trine Athletics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kyle Kozma\u2019s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me don\u2019t be a goalie,\u201d Kozma said. \u201cHe told me to be a player, to go score a goal, get an assist, and then if I still wanted to be a goalie after that, I could try it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI scored my first goal when I was in a house league. I was 5 or 6. And then I went to the bench and asked my dad if I could be a goalie now. He said fine. The rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed it is. All those years later Kozma is now a standout goalie for the nationally ranked Trine Thunder, who are in the midst of another successful season.<\/p>\n

Kozma has appeared in 12 games this season for Trine, logging more than 700 minutes on the ice and fashioning a 1.98 goals against average. He\u2019s 10-2 and has given up just 24 goals while racking up 223 saves.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he\u2019s helped No. 11 Trine go 12-3 and establish itself as a contender for the NCHA crown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a good hockey program,\u201d Kozma said. \u201cWe\u2019re having tons of fun playing every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is Kozma\u2019s second year at Trine and his best one yet. He credits the experience as a freshman \u2013 he started 14 games that year \u2013 as a big reason why he\u2019s found even more success this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a freshman, you come in excited and a little nervous and you don\u2019t know what to expect, Kozma said. \u201cBut after a year of playing and going through a full season, you know it all works and you are more relaxed. I\u2019ve been able to slow things down and have a sense of confidence on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kozma isn\u2019t sure what first drew him to play the position, but he\u2019s thankful he stuck with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it was that you get to wear the cool gear and there is only one of you on the ice. I\u2019m not sure. It\u2019s a unique position. I\u2019m glad I picked it. It worked out,\u201d Kozma said.<\/p>\n

Kozma chose Trine because of the programs\u2019 recent track record of success and he knew going in he would be given an opportunity to likely see the ice in his first year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach talked to me about having an opportunity to play as a freshman. And that drew me here. Plus, we have a great facilities here,\u201d Kozma said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s embraced the chance to be a goalie for the Thunder and tries to stay even keel for his team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very calm and relaxed. I might really be angry or upset, but my teammates don\u2019t see it. I don\u2019t want them, too. I them to see be confident that I have their back out there,\u201d Kozma said.<\/p>\n

He came into this year after an offseason of putting in extra work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked on my skating. Everyone can always be a better skater,\u201d Kozma said. \u201cI also worked on my mobility, having a wider butterfly and playing the puck and acting like a third defenseman back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing for Trine has been a blast for him so far and he enjoys everything about being a college hockey player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love representing a school and playing in big games where the rink is packed,\u201d Kozma said. \u201cAnd being with my teammates, it\u2019s like having a second family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kyle Kozma\u2019s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position. \u201cHe told me don\u2019t be a goalie,\u201d Kozma said. \u201cHe told me to be a player, to go score a goal, get an assist, and then if I still wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":144385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[820],"coauthors":[821],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrine\u2019s Kozma grateful for decision to play goalie - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kyle Kozma\u2019s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position. \u201cHe told me don\u2019t be a goalie,\u201d Kozma said.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144383\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trine\u2019s Kozma grateful for decision to play goalie - College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kyle Kozma\u2019s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position. \u201cHe told me don\u2019t be a goalie,\u201d Kozma said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144383\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-11T21:22:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-11T22:07:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0H0A8475-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brian Lester\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brian Lester\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/\",\"name\":\"Trine\u2019s Kozma grateful for decision to play goalie - College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0H0A8475-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-11T21:22:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-11T22:07:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4f8b63db8eb234f6bf20426e8e69119\"},\"description\":\"Kyle Kozma\u2019s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position. \u201cHe told me don\u2019t be a goalie,\u201d Kozma said.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/01\/11\/trine-hockey-teams-kyle-kozma-glad-he-chose-to-play-goalie\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0H0A8475-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0H0A8475-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Kyle Kozma is in his second season of playing hockey for Trine. 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