Bugalski: From the Sunshine State to Team USA’s Goal
Many of Brittany Bugalski’s teammates on the U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team grew up where hockey is king.
They skated on backyard rinks or at the local park in winter and were playing in youth leagues about the time they were learning their ABCs.
But Bugalski grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, — hardly a hockey hotbed. In fact, when she followed a younger brother into the sport when she was about 8, it was against her mother’s wishes.
“My mom wasn’t too fond of the idea because she thought it was a boys’ sport, especially because it’s not too common down (in Florida),” said Bugalski, a goaltender who earned a shutout in her debut Tuesday over Czech Republic at the International Ice Hockey Federation U18 Women’s World Championship in Buffalo, New York.
But her mom eventually gave her consent, and Bugalski found herself playing on her brother’s team, coached by her dad and filling the role of goaltender because: a) she’d wanted to be a goalie in soccer or hockey when she first saw the sports and, b) (more importantly) the team needed someone to play the position.
She played a couple of years with her brother, and then kept advancing up the youth hockey ladder in Florida, playing on boys’ teams.
She fell in love with the sport and knew she wanted to play in college, but decided that required going somewhere colder. So Bugalski, now 17 and a senior, moved to the Northeast as a freshman in high school to attend and play for girls’ team at The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn.
She says it’s been a great move for her because she’s been challenged athletically and academically and believes she’s much better prepared for college.
“I knew I wanted to play college hockey, and there’s obviously no exposure down here,” she said of Florida. “I’d play on a boys’ team and we’d go up [north] every month, we’d have at least one tournament out of state and we’d get exposure, but I wanted to get exposed to girls’ coaches and all that stuff.”
Mission accomplished.
Bugalski — an all-around athlete who’s also played field hockey, softball and thrown the javelin for the school track and field team — weighed the interest of several colleges before committing to Northeastern University to play hockey.
Bugalski’s game has been on an upward arc since going to school in Connecticut, while also taking part in USA Hockey’s development camps. This year, for the first time, she made the national U18 team and got her first taste of international competition in a three-game series vs. Canada.
She was in goal in Game 1, when the Canadians won, 3-2. Two games later she was the goaltender for Team USA’s 4-1 victory.
She admits the first game she and her teammates were nervous. She also says the fact Canada seemed to be coming at her all game long in Game 1 gave her the chance to settle down and get used to the pace and level of play. By the third game, she felt ready.
“I thought she put a big stamp on the game in the third game, the one that we were able to win,” said U.S. U18 coach Joel Johnson. “Because she played at an elite level in a big spot, and that’s what we’re hoping and expecting from her. … We know that she has the ability and the confidence to be the best goalie in the tournament.”
Bugalski is sharing goaltending duties in Buffalo with Katie Burt. Before the tournament began, Bugalski said she wasn’t certain who would get the majority of playing time. That’s out of her control. She said her main hope is just that the U.S. can play up to its potential and snap a streak of three second-place finishes in a row to Canada, dating back to 2012.
“I think we really want it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bugalski knows this is yet another great opportunity to continue to sharpen her skills and take another step forward.
She’s confident in her abilities and potential in goal, but knows she needs to continue to work. She says her biggest weakness is a tendency to be too conservative and not be as active as she should be.
Yet her size and ability to concentrate can make her formidable.
“I’m a big goalie, like 5-9, so I take up a lot of the net and move fairly quickly, so I think that makes it challenging for players to score,” she said. “And then, mentally, I guess, I like to get into a zone and it’s pretty hard to get out of it. I’m very focused during the game.”
The U.S. is hoping to tap into those talents this week to help get back atop the U18 hockey world.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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