Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the first installment, featuring forward Luc Lalor. Lalor is one of two newcomers from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He discusses his hockey path through his native Alberta, how he views himself as a hockey player, his recovery from a serious injury and what he thought of his visit to Cornell when the Big Red beat Harvard in overtime.

Q: Welcome. How is the town and the university treating you so far?
A: It's been awesome, honestly. It's been incredible; mind-blowing. It's kind of a totally different world than anything I've experienced yet, and coming here and being a part of the guys has been absolutely incredible, too. Everyone's a really tight-knit group, and I'm really loving it so far.

Q: What's so different about this area compared to where you grew up and played juniors in Alberta?
A: Walking around the campus with all the history. It's a really old school, and there a lot of cool buildings. Just the academics and everything is something that's been storied, and it's a very prestigious place, I guess you could say. I think that's definitely been very cool. The weather's not that much different, I hear. It's actually a little nicer than back home, so that's always nice.

Q: Give it time, although I finally looked up where Fort McMurray is. That's up there, right?
A: Yeah, I don't think you're going to beat them for cold.

Q: Not temperature. But maybe for snow?
A: Possibly snow. I've heard that.

Q: There's some good reading about you out there, and there's one story out of Green Bay that was talking about how you've kind of always felt like an underdog in hockey. Why is that?
A: I don't know if I would say 'underdog', but I've always been a smaller player and a little bit under-sized, and I think guys like that can get overlooked. They always have to prove themselves. So in that sense, I guess you could say I've always felt like I've had something to prove when I play. I think that's a healthy thing. And I think I've worked for everything I've had. I've always been a guy who's walked on to a team; I've never been a guy who's been guaranteed a spot or promised a spot. I feel like I've earned everything I've ever had.

Q: That said, it didn't take you long to prove yourself in the AJHL, winning your division's rookie of the year honors in 2013. How would you describe yourself as a player?
A: I like to think of myself as a two-way playmaker, and if I get a chance to score I'm going to score. I try and play hard and make guys around me better, mostly. Defensively responsible, too.

Q: Obviously injuries are a big part of hockey, but you had a major one when you suffered a broken collarbone. It seemed like it just happened at a really bad time, too. How much of a challenge was that recovery process?
A: I think it was tough, but I guess something I've learned with injuries is that there's never really a good time for them in your mind. It wouldn't matter whether it was at the start of the season, the middle of the season or the end of the season — you'd always feel like you were missing out. But I think it was definitely a tough one to deal with. I think there are some things that are just out of our control when you play this game. Most injuries fall in that category, for sure. You just take it in stride and try to get back as quickly as possible to playing the game you love.

Q: So tell me about the recruiting process for you. At what point did Cornell reach out to you and show some interest?
A: Well, I think what happened was Mitch Vanderlaan came and played with me in Fort McMurray and I had been playing there for a year before he got there. I'm guessing that's where Cornell heard about me and watched me. So I spoke with (Associate Head Coach Ben Syer) a lot throughout the recruiting process, and I was really thrilled to be recognized by such a prestigious school and such a great hockey program, too, to match it. It was really exciting to be recruited by them, and even more exciting to commit. It was a really, really cool experience.

Q: How much did you talk with Mitch about Cornell?
A: I think we respected each other's opinions, but I think the interesting thing about it was that how much do you really know about a school before you go there? I went on a visit and watched Harvard-Cornell on Senior Night (in 2014), and he went on his own visit before that. So that was our little snippet of what we thought it would be like. We both did our research before committing, but you can only really speculate on what it's going to be like. I think we both committed off our own interests. But I think it's definitely been a cool experience coming here together and sharing everything that we speculated about and dreamed about. It's been awesome.

Q: What did you think about that Harvard game?
A: That Harvard game was ridiculous. It was two years ago, and Cornell scored in overtime (Joel Lowry '15 jamming in a rebound from beside the crease).

Q: Ever seen a game like that before?
A: No. And like I said, that was like a snippet of something you could carry with you as you were going through the recruiting process and try to picture how you see yourself fitting in. I was standing right at that end by the student section, and I think I watched the student section more than I watched the game. I couldn't believe they do this during hockey games. There's not really anything like that where I'm from.

Q: What are you studying and thinking about doing after hockey?
A: I'm in Communication right now, and I guess I haven't really thought about jobs or anything yet. I don't like to think my hockey will be over in four years. It's every hockey player's dream to play pro, so I'm going to work as hard as I can to make that dream a reality. If that doesn't work out, I'm sure I'll come up with something that I'll enjoy doing and am hopefully passionate about in the work force.