(Photo Courtesy: Berkleigh Radcliffe)
Is it time to rev up the zambonis, yet? The Arizona State University Women’s Hockey team hopes to soon be back on the ice again to officially welcome their new recruits to the team.
Of these new recruits, three are transfers from the same college of SUNY-Buffalo State College: Tristin Stetson, Berkleigh Radcliffe, and Kyran “Ky” Lackey. All with hopes to impact a rapidly improving ASU women’s hockey team.
In the early stages of their time at ASU, all three have surrounded themselves with the team off the ice, and are enjoying their time together.
“I personally really like it here,” Stetson said. It has a really good environment.”
While they are living it up at ASU so far, Buffalo State was a drastically different story.
“[The experience was] Horrible…it was detrimental to our mental health,” Radcliffe said.
Lackey added that, “The environment is not even comparable; it’s just such a happier and uplifting environment here [at ASU], especially with the girls. The relationships here are already better than what we had at Buffalo.”
Those words carry a lot of weight as Lackey spent two years at Buffalo State before transferring to ASU. To already have closer bonds here at ASU, in such a short is a welcome change for the Phoenix, Ariz. native.
“I’m happy to be home and with my family and girls that I grew up playing around,” Lackey said. “It’s nice to be around something I’m familiar with and know I can have fun and be happy.”
Even though Lackey is happy to be back home, she still is pleased to have lived the out-of-state experience of playing in a different environment. Lackey learned a lot from her out of state experience, as did the other two transfers.
“We learned a lot [from Buffalo State],” Stetson said. Radcliffe also added, “We learned to push through even when it’s tough. We learned how to be mentally tough and patience; a lot about patience.”
In most of their answers, the transfers always said, “we,” showcasing the bond, the three solidified at Buffalo State.
“I think having all three of us together is what got us through last year,” Radcliffe said. “We would have gone home if we weren’t together.”
That bond held them together and pushed them through the hardships they faced at Buffalo State.
“We stuck together and helped each other, and we tried to stay positive when it was negative,” Radcliffe said.
The Sun Devils can expect a close-knitted chemistry between these three when they skate together on the ice. However, that chemistry was not crafted at Buffalo State; at least not for Radcliffe and Stetson. It started when they were just kids lacing up skates for the first time.
“Tristen and I have been playing together for eight to nine years,” Radcliffe said. “We grew up playing together, and we wanted to go to college together.”
Both Radcliffe and Stetson call Anchorage, Alaska home, playing hockey together for nearly half of their lives and wanted to continue that at Buffalo State. They now look to bring their long childhood relationship to the Sun Devils to flourish as friends and teammates.
The move from Buffalo State to ASU has led them to a better environment, but the adjustment has not been smooth. COVID-19 has made the transition challenging for the transfers.
“We haven’t been able to branch off and meet new people, which has been hard,” Radcliffe explained. “It’s mentally tough just staying at home.”
However, the time spent with their new ASU teammates has made these difficult circumstances a lot more welcoming for the trio.
The three were embraced with open arms and greeted with an atmosphere of effort and hard work; Something they didn’t always see at Buffalo State.
“I can already tell a lot of the girls want to be here…they want to work hard,” Stetson said. “We see the difference between the team that didn’t work hard and didn’t have that mentality compared to here. It’s like night and day.”
Radcliffe added that “effort” is what will continue the growth of the Sun Devil program. With a strong 17-5 record last year, the three are hungry to improve the Sun Devils even more.
Throughout all the hardships the three have endured, all of them have become wiser as both people and as players. Lackey shared her advice to help the team’s incoming freshmen.
“Have fun, don’t let the pressure of winning make you forget why you play hockey in the first place.”
Lackey makes it clear that while winning is important, it’s the passion that fuels a player’s drive. That calm and confident approach will help this highly improved Sun Devils team make noise when the season starts. Hopefully, sooner, rather than later.
