During Saturday’s match against Princeton, ice hockey forward Stephanie Mock ’15 scored Yale’s only goal, her first at Yale. The News sat down with Mock and discussed her hockey background, her perceptions of the team so far and the premiere goal.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I’m from Cape Coral, Fla.
Q: That doesn’t strike me as a big hockey town. How did you start playing?
A: Everyone says that – “How did you get into hockey?” I actually started with roller hockey, and then they built an ice rink nearby and I started playing. There aren’t really any girls who play there, so I played with boys until I was 16. Then I went to prep school about an hour away from here at a place called Hotchkiss. I was there for three years, from sophomore to senior year.
Q: How long have you played hockey?
A: I got my first roller blades for my fifth birthday. My brother got them for me. I’m 19 now, so it’s been a long time.
Q: Why did you choose to come to Yale?
A: First of all, the facility, “the Whale,” is awesome. Also, I just felt really welcomed by the whole team, and the coaches are awesome. And you can’t beat the academics!
Q: How are you finding the team experience so far?
A: Everyone is really good friends, so it’s fun times.
Q: You scored your first goal last weekend against Princeton. Were you excited?
A: Yeah, it was fun. It’s about time — my coach said that to me when I came off the ice. It was good, it was on a power play. We needed something, but it was too bad we couldn’t get more goals than that.
Q: How is the team feeling about the season so far?
A: We’re not entirely happy with how it’s going right now, but I think some of the scores that we’ve had lately haven’t really reflected how we’re playing. In the last two games anyway we’ve gotten some unlucky bounces. Early on we had gotten a lot of penalties, but we’ve calmed down, so that’s a good thing. And I think we’re on our way back. That’s one of our phrases: we’re bouncing back.
Q: Do you find there is a discrepancy between the popularity of the men’s and women’s hockey teams here?
A: I haven’t been here long enough to really notice. I haven’t even been to a men’s game yet. But even in prep school, everyone would go to the men’s games, and we would only get a few roommates and friends to come to ours. There’s always a discrepancy between girls and guys. Guys can hit, so it’s a little more exciting.
Q: Mandi Schwartz ’11 is a big figure for the women’s hockey program here. You never had the chance to know her, but how has her legacy influenced you?
A: I played this summer on a team that helped raise money and encourage blood donors to donate — it was organized by [team captain] Aleca Hughes ’12. And we just got Mandi’s sweater and every week we give that to someone on the team who really embodies her spirit.
Q: The “White Out” game will be on Dec. 2 to support young hockey players diagnosed with cancer. How are you involved in that?
A: Everyone on the team is in charge of a different aspect of it. I’m helping to spread word [of the event] in the community. It’s really great, what we’re doing. We’re trying to fill the stadium and sell a lot of T-shirts. Most of the money comes from the T-shirt sales, and they’re really cheap, so buy them!
Q: What do you do outside when you’re not on the ice?
A: I’m in pre-med, so that keeps me pretty busy, but I haven’t really gotten involved in many other activities. I’m one of the Master’s aides in Saybrook, so I help out with the events in the Master’s house.