Making the most of each shift

By John Lachmann

OXFORD, Ohio – The casual fan might not notice Matt Tomassoni.

The senior Carol Stream, Ill., native is smaller than the average 21st century hockey player at 5-feet-10, 170 pounds. He has scored just 14 goals at Miami, and has not recorded more than 15 points in any of his four seasons with the RedHawks.

But Tomassoni has created a niche on the team with his versatility – playing every position except goalie while in Oxford – and his maximum-effort style has made him a go-to guy on the penalty kill and earned him regular power play time.

“He’s contributed in a lot of ways, maybe even more so than we thought he would, playing defense,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “He’s definitely worked out well for us.”

A shift he took his junior year epitomized Tomassoni’s career. In a series at Bowling Green with the Falcons on the power play, Miami took another penalty to create a 5-on-3.

Tomassoni was the lone forward, and seconds after the defensive zone faceoff, he broke his stick. With most players, that would essentially set up a 5-on-2, but Tomassoni blocked a shot from the top of the faceoff circle and deflected another shot into the corner.

With the puck still in the zone, a Bowling Green player prepared to rip another shot from the blue line but Tomassoni bowled him over. He eventually dove on the loose puck and threw it down the ice before going off for a change.

“I wanted to show that I like to kill penalties,” Tomassoni said. “You get a lot more ice time and get into the game. I take pride in being a penalty killer, blocking shots, doing it for my team. It really builds momentum and the guys feed off of that.”

Many hockey players that reach a high level learn to skate by the age of three. Tomassoni started playing roller hockey in the street when he was seven and did not transition to the ice until age 11. At that point he began playing in house leagues around Chicago.

Tomassoni played juniors at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, about a four hour drive from the Chicago suburb in which he grew up. His first season he recorded just two goals and two assists in 40 games, but in 2007-08 he notched seven goals and 20 helpers in 59 games.

“It was an interesting experience, getting away from home, going to high school up there,” Tomassoni said. “Everyone does it that comes (to Miami) – but it’s definitely an eye opener. I had fun there and I really matured there as a person and as a player.”

During Tomassoni’s midget minor season he had four collegiate offers, but having played bantam tournaments in Oxford, he decided on Miami.
Tomassoni had played both forward and defense growing up, and Blasi said despite his stature he was recruited to play defense.

“We thought he was very mobile and had some offensive ability,” Blasi said.

Despite having a loaded blue line corps that included fellow seniors Will Weber, Cameron Schilling and Chris Wideman, as well as Kevin Roeder and Vincent LoVerde, Tomassoni played 32 of 41 games, dishing for five assists his freshman season.

Tomassoni learned right away that his lack of reach was a major disadvantage when playing defense at this level.

“You don’t realize until you get to juniors and college how big of a difference it is, with the guys that use their bodies to protect the puck,” Tomassoni said. “It’s harder being smaller, but we move better.”

The Miami blue line became even more crowded Tomassoni’s sophomore year with the additions of Joe Hartman and Stephen Spinell, even with Roeder’s graduation. Tomassoni still played 31 games and scored his first four collegiate goals.

Spinell and Tomassoni battled for ice time that season, but Spinell’s talent was impossible to ignore and Blasi wanted Tomassoni to play every night, so the decision was made to move him to forward.

“We were just trying to find a spot for him where he can contribute,” Blasi said. “He’s got obviously some offensive skill and he’s pretty good at the penalty kill and he can skate, so he’s very versatile. He can go back and forth (from forward to defense) for us.”

Tomassoni transitioned into a super-utility role. He played wing, centered the fourth line and moved back to defense when the team had multiple blueliners in the penalty box to give the others a rest.

“Moving to forward, he’s got a grittiness that doesn’t show in his size,” senior goalie Connor Knapp said. “He goes in the corners and gets after pucks and lays hits on guys and really sets the tempo for the rest of the team. He may not always be on the score sheet, but he’s definitely a leader out there in terms of how he plays, and he sets the tone for the younger guys a lot, too.”

Blasi has a history of maximizing players’ versatility. Several seasons ago he moved Stephen Dennis and Matt Davis back and forth, and current junior Garrett Kennedy has played some forward despite being a career defenseman.

“Those guys are very beneficial to your team, your program because you can play them at forward and if something happens you can drop them back,

you can put them on the power play and not have to worry about losing anything defensively,” Blasi said. “They block shots, they’re just very versatile and any time you have a player like that, or two, or three it’s good for your team.”

As a junior, Tomassoni made the switch look easy. He rolled up six goals and nine assists in 36 games, overcoming a late-season upper body injury.

“(Coach) said he felt like I was more of an asset to the team as a forward, and personally I did, too,” Tomassoni said. “My defensive game was kind of struggling and I think Spinell and Hartman came in and they were better defensively that I was, but as a forward I could still be a good defensive forward and go from there.”

This season, Tomassoni has been in the lineup for 28 of 30 games, notching four goals and four assists. He is second only to freshman Austin Czarnik in blocked shots by forwards with 27.

Czarnik has 28 blocks.

Blasi, Knapp and fellow senior defenseman Will Weber – Tomassoni’s roommate and one of his best friends since freshman year, all mention blocked shots and battling in corners when asked to describe Tomassoni’s play.

“He gives you everything he’s got no matter what the situation,” Blasi said.

For his career, Tomassoni has blocked 119 shots, just two fewer than fellow senior Chris Wideman, and he trails Cameron Schilling by 12 despite logging less ice time.

“He’s 100 percent all the way,” Knapp said. “He never backs down from a challenge. It doesn’t matter how big the guy is he’s going into the corner with, he’s going in there to get that puck.

“It’s inspiring for the rest of the guys, I think, to see this guy who struggled a little bit with playing time earlier in his career and then he just worked and fought through it and now he’s reaping the benefits of his own hard work.”

Said Weber: “He does a really good job of that, and he helps out other guys on his line and the other lines just by possessing the puck in the offensive zone and tiring out the other team. By the time a line like Reilly (Smith’s) gets out there it’s a lot easier to score goals because of guys like him.”

Unfortunately, tragedy has been a common theme with this program in recent years, and Tomassoni has dealt with his share during his collegiate career. His grandfather on his mother’s side, one of his biggest fans who Tomassoni was very close to, died three years ago.

Tomassoni said that the second-worst day of his life. The worst would come during his junior year when he received a call that his mother, Margaret, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Just like he would any situation on the ice, he’s dealing with it with extreme dedication and that doesn’t surprise any of us when it comes to Matt,” Blasi said.

Tomassoni needed to look no further than two of his best friends when it came to dealing with tragedy among immediate family members. Both Weber and Knapp lost their fathers at a young age.

“We’re all kind of in the same boat as far as experiencing something like that, but he’s a strong kid, he dealt with it really well,” Weber said. “You never saw anything off the ice or on the ice that would make you believe he was struggling with it.”

When Weber was 11, his father was killed in a plane crash, and Knapp’s father died suddenly in the summer of 2010.

“As soon as he got the news I was there to support him and I told him that whenever he needs to talk, that’s something that I’ve gone through,” Knapp said. “We’ve grown really close the last two years not only because of that but we live together now in an apartment. With regards to his mom there was no question that he could come to me.”

So far, the Tomassoni’s mother has beaten the disease and her recovery is going well.

“Seeing Connor’s dad pass away, living with Will for all four years – being best friends with Will – you realize how important your parents and your family are to you,” Tomassoni said. “Will lost his dad at a young age which I can never imagine – I wouldn’t be able to be as strong – and Connor, sophomore year he lost his father, and just seeing the way that they rebounded from it…

“I looked at them as almost role models to help me through it. They’re real supportive.”

On the ice, Tomassoni plays as if every shift was his last. Off the ice, his friends say he is more gregarious.

“‘Sones’ is definitely the funny guy – he’s always got a smile on his face, always joking around,” Knapp said. “He was always there for me to put a smile on my face when I was down. But there’s an element of seriousness to him that garners a lot of respect from his teammates. Even though he may look silly a lot, he’s here for business. I think that’s a characteristic that’s great about him.”

Said Weber: “He’s definitely kind of the class clown, I guess you could say. He’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s a guy anyone feels comfortable talking to, and everyone likes him on the team.”

Tomassoni said he would like to play professional hockey next season, and with his work ethic and versatility