Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the ninth and final installment, featuring forward Anthony Angello. From the town of Manlius about an hour away for Cornell's campus, Angello talks about his path through Upstate New York hockey, going to ECAC Hockey games as a fan, winning gold with Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and the misfortune in his first game in Lynah Rink.

Q: We're already quite a ways into the season at this point. As a whole, what have been your impressions so far?
A: So far, I'd give Cornell an A-plus — not only from the academic stand point, but from a hockey stand point and to the connection the teammates have. All the players as a whole, between us to the coaches, the communication is great. Coming out every night in front of the Lynah Faithful just gives me the chills during the national anthems and everyone screams 'Red!' or the third period chant is one of my favorites. So far, it's been great, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
 
Q: You committed a while ago, so you've had some familiarity with the program and watched the team have a couple disappointing years. Is this what you expected to happen this year? Or has there been anything that's surprised you?
A: I came in with an open mind, because I feel like the chemistry on a team is what ultimately leads to a team's success. I feel like it could have went either way, but I knew after the first night of being here with the guys — spending time with all of them, and the relationships that were made — I knew this team was going to make a run for a national championship.
 
Q: And that's been a theme this year. A lot of guys have said that the team chemistry has been outstanding. All of you have been on a lot of different teams to get to this point in your careers. What is it about this team that's so extraordinary in regards to chemistry? Can you give an example?
A: As a whole, I feel like guys sincerely care about each other. Off the ice, guys text each other when they want to go out to eat. It doesn't matter who it might be — a senior might go with a freshman, or a goalie might go with a forward. Guys expanded outside of their comfort zone. So at this point, the comfort zone for each guy is the entire team. You can take a different guy out for a meal or just hang out, and each guy is every other guy's best friend. Almost every team function that we do or anything we do outside of the rink, everyone's there. On the ice, for example, guys are diving head first to block shots or diving to get the puck out. The intensity and physicality — you can tell each guy really wants to win. When each guy sincerely wants to win and doesn't just go through the motions and fake it, that's when great things happen.
 
Q: Coming in here after two years in the USHL, what was the biggest adjustment for you?
A: I think the biggest jump was actually going from the Empire league to the USHL. I think the USHL really prepared me well for coming into college hockey. Obviously, it was still a jump, but the USHL definitely helped prepare me for the speed aspect of things — being able to think plays through and making plays at a quicker pace. Coming in here, guys are still a lot bigger, a lot faster, a lot stronger. I think the biggest adjustment for me would be you have a lot less time with the puck then you would in the USHL. Guys being bigger and stronger allows them to get across the ice quicker, and in that case you're going to have to make quicker decisions with the puck, truly knowing what you're going to do with it before you even get it.
 
Q: I'll rewind to the World Junior A Challenge last year. What was that experience like, winning gold wearing the red, white and blue?
A: That was awesome. It was absolutely surreal. That was one of my goals for last year, and I was really happy when I got told I would part of that team. Going out there, we flew to Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) which by itself was in the middle of nowhere. But then we took a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Kindersley, which was ever farther into the middle of nowhere. Not a whole lot was around other than the town. I want to say there were a lot of oil mines all over the place. But it was really cool. That was my first time being able to wear a USA jersey, and I absolutely loved every part of it. I remember we beat Denmark, 2-1, in the finals and ended up winning a gold medal. That was something I'll remember forever.
 
Q: So you're from Manlius, which is only about an hour away near Syracuse. Were you born and raised there?
A: No, I was actually born in Albany, N.Y., and I lived in Guilderland until I was 4. So I started skating when I was 2 and playing hockey when I was 4. We ended up moving to Manlius and I've lived there ever since, and it's been great.
 
Q: How familiar were you with Cornell before colleges started calling you?
A: I want to say I really started looking into Cornell when I had to start thinking about where I wanted to play hockey in college. I didn't know a ton about it through my younger years. I'd definitely come to games when I was younger, but at that point for me it was another hockey game. My dad used to take me to RPI games when I was younger, because that's where he went to grad school. But I really started to do the research after I found out Cornell was interested in me after one of my years in the Empire league. After coming on my visit, I got to campus and I just got that vibe, 'This place is absolutely gorgeous, and this is where I want to be.' And then after watching that game against Harvard (in November 2012), I knew this is where I belonged.
 
Q: At what point did colleges start finding you in the Empire league?
A: I want to say they started gaining interest in my first year of Empire, which was my sophomore year of high school. I didn't really talk to many at that time, but it was that second year that I started to get phone calls and emails or text messages. That's when I decided Cornell was the one for me, in my junior year of high school.
 
Q: I understand your first game in Lynah Rink was actually well before this year. What do you remember about that game?
A: My first game in Lynah was junior year in high school, shortly after I had committed to Cornell. I had a high school game with (Fayetteville-Manlius) at the time, and we were playing against Ithaca. It was super cool coming here and I was psyched up for the game, ready to go, and I want to say within the first period I ended up hitting a kid that happens to turn his back and I end up getting a major and misconduct while all three Cornell coaches are up top watching me. I couldn't have felt more shame sitting in the box. I think, 'Great. All three coaches come to watch, and I blow 12 minutes in the penalty box.'
 
Q: Do you see the humor of the situation now, at least?
A: Yeah, it's funny to look back on now. But I'm still bitter about the loss.
 
Q: So let's jump forward to the 2014 NHL draft. Were you monitoring the draft with the Pittsburgh Penguins picked you up in the fifth round?
A: I was. I was sitting at home with my family, and we were debating whether or not to go to the draft and I thought it would be better not to go, just in case something happened and it didn't go as I had planned. We were following it on NHL Network, and out of nowhere my phone starts buzzing and it's one of my advisers. I looked at my dad, and at that point we assumed it was just going to be a call to say, 'Keep the faith. Everything's going to go as planned; everything's going to work out one way or the other.' We were about midway through the fifth round at that point and I answer the phone and he yells, 'You just got picked by Pittsburgh! Congratulations!' The whole room went nuts, and I dropped my phone to give my dad a huge hug. He had tears in his eyes. He was really, really happy and couldn't be more proud.
 
Q: So then teams hold their prospect development camps soon thereafter in the summer, and you've had the opportunity to go to a couple of those now. What's your experience with that and your takeaway?
A: I think it was a little different between the first and second years. The first year, it was just to kind of go and take it all in. I didn't have a great idea of what the tests were going to be, or what the speed was going to be like. It was an adjustment, and I felt like I held my own and performed pretty well in the tests. It gave me something to train for and worked toward for the second year. So coming out the next year, I felt like I had a much bigger impact than the first year. Not only was I able to keep up with the play, but now I was able to make plays. All my testing scores went up, and I was really happy with my performance on the ice. The big thing I realized was that my skating was getting a lot strong. I didn't feel like I was getting knocked off the puck, and I was getting bullied around. I definitely feel like that led to a confidence boost, and we'll see what the rest of this year has in store.
 
Q: So where do you feel that your game needs to grow?
A: I think the biggest area I need to work on is the skating aspect of things. To me, I don't think you can be a great hockey player if you can't skate, because hockey is all based around skating. With that being said, the skating for me has to do with edge work — being able to cross over quicker, hold better edges, being quicker to get out. So that really relates to the agility aspect of things and I guess the quickness, which I don't know if is a cliché term or not. That will not only help you become a stronger skater, to help you get around a 'D' one-on-one and not get pushed off the puck, but you can hold and protect the puck longer. So toward the end of practice or when I first get out there, I always try to individually work on some kind of skating thing.
 
Q: Finally, why do you wear the number 17?
A: Let's see, I always wore 77 when I was growing up and was really, really young — probably up until I was 10, 11, 12. Not 100 percent sure of the significance, but I had worn 17 at some point in my youth hockey days, but I want to say I picked it up around ninth grade. And then I wore it in the Empire. Then going into Omaha (of the USHL), one of the veterans wore it, so I took 18. Wore that for two years, and then it worked out to where I could pick 17 back up when I got to Cornell.

FRESHMAN FRIDAY SERIES
Oct. 23: Luc Lalor
Oct. 30: Mitch Vanderlaan
Nov. 6: Beau Starrett
Nov. 13: Trent Shore
Nov. 20: Alec McCrea
Nov. 27: Chad Otterman
Dec. 4: Matthew Nuttle
Jan. 8: Brendan Smith