Although former Virden Oil Capital Dylan Cusmano won a championship in his first season, the Trinity Western University men’s hockey team is looking for even more from him this coming winter.
The Abbotsford product, who suited up in Virden 2015-2017, was part of the Spartans team that claimed the 2018 British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League title. TWU swept Selkirk College, 2-0, in the league finals.
“It was really great,” Cusmano said. “Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to win a championship, and to do it with the group of men we had made it really special.”
An injury kept Cusmano off the ice for much of the season. The forward had four assists in 13 games.
“Unfortunately, Cuz was injured this playoff run,” Spartans head coach Barret Kropf said. “We are excited to see him healthy next season and be a key guy for us down the stretch.”
Trinity Western University is a private Christian liberal arts school in Langley, which is part of metro Vancouver.
“He is a great guy on and off the ice! A servant leader who is not afraid of hard work,” said Kropf, who went to say that Cusmano is a “Community leader who is a great communicator and has fit perfectly into our locker room culture! Excited to have him as a Spartan!”
Cusmano is enrolled in TWU’s business program and plans on specializing in accounting. Balancing hockey and school work was an adjustment for him from junior.
“The big thing is the schedule,” Cusmano said. “There are far less games in order to accommodate school work. The league itself is also very similar to my junior days as far as skill goes.”
The B.C. product is no stranger to winning. In 2014, he helped the Abbotsford Pilots to the finals of the Keystone Cup Western Canada Junior B championships in front of a home crowd. The next year he was part of a Dryden Ice Dogs team that made it to the Superior International Junior Hockey League finals.
Cusmano then capped his junior career with two seasons in Virden. He said the highlight of his time there was his final season when he played with his brother Evan.
