Madison Dias hails from Penticton, British Columbia and joins the Big Red after three years in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzlies. He discusses his experience with the Grizzlies, international competition with Team Canada West and the support he's had playing for the Big Red with former Grizzlies teammates Dustin Mowrey and Joel Lowry.

Q: You come to the Big Red after playing three seasons with the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL. You tallied up 115 points on 46 goals and 69 assists in your time with that team. How would you describe your experience in the junior leagues?
A: It was a great experience. I went there when I was 15, which was a pretty big jump, moving away from home but the team was great. Playing with (sophomore) Dustin Mowrey here and (freshman) Joel Lowry, they really helped me. Mowry helped me when I came in here so the transfer has been good.

Q: What was it like for you starting that up at age 15?
A: It was definitely a big jump. The guys were a lot older, I was used to playing with guys a similar age and I was playing with guys that were twenty, twenty-one years old. It was tough, but it came along pretty well.

Q: Do you have a favorite moment or most significant accomplishment from your years with the Grizzlies?
A: Our first year there we were at the top of the BCHL, we were the number one team and we hosted the national championship, the RBC [Royal Bank Cup] so that was a great experience.

Q: You represented Team Canada West at both the 2009 and 2010 World Junior A Challenge. What were those experiences like?
A: They were fantastic; it was a once in a lifetime experience. First year we had a really good team, we went in but it was a pretty upsetting loss in the final, 2-1. The second year was good as well, but our team didn't do as well as we wanted to but it was still great.

Q: I hear your family is split between soccer and hockey, how did you pick one sport over the other?
A: Yeah, my dad was born in Portugal and he moved to Canada when he was 18 so his sport was definitely soccer. I grew up playing both but I ended up taking up hockey over soccer. It was pretty upsetting for my dad but he's pretty happy that it ended up with me going to an Ivy-League school.  When I go back home I play soccer in the summer and I still follow it a lot.

Q: What has it been like coming to school and playing with some of your former teammates, sophomore Dustin Mowrey and freshman Joel Lowry?
A: It definitely helped my transition. I actually flew into Alberta and then Joel and I flew here together so it helped out a lot not just coming alone by myself. And then once I came in, Dustin Mowrey introduced me to everybody so it was a lot easier, I was thankful for that.

Q: Why the Big Red? What made you choose Cornell?
A: It's a fantastic school, an Ivy League School, which was definitely where I wanted to go. Seeing myself in this hockey program, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Q: What was it like playing in your first collegiate game against Brown? How do you think you played?
A: I thought I did pretty well. I loved it, I was pretty exciting putting on that Cornell jersey and representing the school and I was really thankful to be out there with the team.

Q: Favorite moment thus far this season?
A: Being at Madison Square Garden watching our team. It was a tough loss but just seeing the atmosphere was unbelievable.

Q: What are you looking for to most as you move forward with the Big Red schedule?
A: Our team is doing really well right now so I'm really excited to keep building off of that and see where it takes us, hopefully to a national championship.