Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the women's ice hockey team. This is the third installment of the year, featuring forward Izzy Daniel. 
 
Q: How do you like Cornell and the area so far?
A: I like it a lot, it's a lot different than my home in Minnesota. I was told it would be a lot of snow and very cold but I think Minnesota is a lot colder and has a lot more snow. It's a lot different, the people are very different but it's been a good change and I think I've adapted pretty well.
 
Q: What about your classes? 
A: First semester went pretty well. It was a big jump from high school but I went to a high school that prepared me pretty well for college and the challenges I would face here. Then today was the first day of second semester, and we will see how that goes. So far, not too bad.
 
Q: You are in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, over half of your class is also in that school. Is that something that helps you with classes? Is CALS a school you are looking to stay in? Tell me about that.
A: I am looking to change schools; possibly to the business school or to the ILR school, just because I think it would be more helpful down the road for what I would be interested in. But yeah, a lot of us are in CALS, but three of us are currently communication majors and I don't think any of us are going to stay that, which is interesting. CALS is a big school so there are a lot of different opportunities to explore so you aren't really restricted to one area, like I'm a communication major but I've only taken one communication class. There's a lot of different opportunities and classes you can take in CALS and it's been nice to branch out and see what I like.
 
Q: You mentioned earlier that going through the business or ILR schools might be better for what you want to do. What do you want to do?
A: I want to do something in sports management; right now that's what I'm thinking of doing. Hopefully. Right now, sports management or something in sports because even at a young age I've always been really into that; the analytics and statistics in all sports, not just hockey. 
 
Q: Before you came to Cornell, how much time did you spend on campus?
A: Not a lot actually. I visited once, in August, when the new freshman were arriving on campus. That was the only time I visited and I was sold on it. So it only took one visit.
 
Q: Did you commit pretty much right after you visited?
A: No, I committed over a year later actually. I just didn't know what to do; I was stuck and I didn't want to make an impulse decision and regret it, so I took my time. I knew I loved it right away and there was something different about Cornell and special that I didn't have at my other visits, but I just wanted to make sure.
 
Q: Do you know what that special and different thing was or was it just a feeling?
A: It was just… Well a lot of people say or they don't believe that there is a feeling when you know and I didn't either until I came here. But I think it was meeting the team, the people on the team, they were so welcoming and friendly and they were interested in getting to know me and including me, which was something I hadn't felt anywhere else.
 
Q: That's always a good feeling. So you really liked the team atmosphere over anything else?
A: Yeah.
 
Q: What do you think, so far, of Division I?
A: Division I is a big jump from high school. I played on a team with a lot of players who went on to play Division I but I didn't know what to expect when I made the jump. It's a lot faster, a lot stronger, you have a lot less time to make decisions on the ice. And everyone is just so good. I don't know, it's a lot different; the speed and the strength of people and the thinking in the game, you have to make such quicker decisions. 
 
Q: It is a transition that you seem to have seamlessly made. You made an assist in your first game on the ice. How did that feel?
A: It felt pretty good, it was a lucky point. I fell down and ended up getting an assist. It felt good, and it was good to play in my first game and get that out of the way. I was really nervous to play in it, and I ended up getting a penalty too, which was kind of funny. But getting the first run out of the way is always nice. 
 
Q: And then the next game, same weekend, you got your first collegiate goal. What was that like?
A: That was really exciting. I was pretty excited, and it was against Clarkson too.
 
Q: And it was the only goal against Clarkson in that game.
A: Yeah, and I know talking to the girls that Clarkson has been a big rivalry. Clarkson's been a powerhouse in the ECAC (Hockey League) and unfortunately we ended up tying but it was a really good feeling (scoring that goal).
 
Q: Last weekend, you had a big game - two power play goals and one power play assist against Harvard, contributing to three out of the seven goals scored. What was that team atmosphere like, after and during the game?
A: It was a lot of fun. I think finally… After the break we had gotten off to a slow start and we were looking to play a full 60-minute game and (that) weekend I thought our team played really well. I thought the Harvard game was just a really fun game to play in; everyone played really well, everyone was super excited for the game and I had a lot of fun playing in it. 
 
Q: You mentioned earlier playing in high school. Your team at the Blake School, was that the team you were Minnesota State Champion with? And the 2018 and 2019 MVP?
A: Yep.
 
Q: Did you play on any club teams?
A: I played on club teams until I was a sophomore in high school. It was called the Minnesota Machine, and actually Sam Burke and Sydney Breza, who play here now, also played on it. Then after that, high school was the main season and then we would just practice, usually during the summer, and work out and work on skills. We wouldn't usually play in tournaments or any games out of season.
 
Q: The 2019 Ms. Hockey Finalist, what is that?
A: Within Minnesota, every year they name 10 girls from hockey, who are all seniors. It's the best players in the Minnesota high school league. Then they narrow it down to five, and there's a banquet, called the Ms. Hockey Banquet. Then they announce the Ms. Hockey winner.
 
Q: So it's basically a Minnesota State Hockey Player of the Year? 
A: Yeah.
 
Q: That's cool. What did it feel like to be a state champion two years in a row in high school?
A: I would say, thinking back, it's probably my favorite memory playing hockey, winning those two state championships. We got to play at the Xcel Energy Center, which is where the Minnesota Wild plays, and that was really cool. It's a really big event in Minnesota. As a kid, you grow up dreaming of playing in the state tournament and I got to play in it twice and we won it both years. Still to this day, some of my best friends are my teammates from those teams. Honestly the best part was meeting my teammates on those teams and getting to experience and win the state championship was really special. 
 
Q: How would you describe yourself as a player? Is there anyone you model yourself after, whether it be professional or someone you used to play with?
A: I would say I'm not the biggest person, or the strongest, but I try to use my speed and my vision more. I would describe myself as more of a playmaker. I don't know if there is anyone I model my game after. I like to pass the puck, I'm kind of a pass-first player, and I like to set other people up and make plays. 
 
Q: You mentioned earlier you played with Sydney and Sam before Cornell, did they influence your decision to come here in any way?
A: Not really, honestly. They both had committed before I had and I knew they were coming here but I tried not to let the outside factors influence my decision that much. It was definitely nice to have familiar faces when I got here; Joie Phelps too, she's from Minnesota and I played against her in high school. It's been nice having them around to have some little bit of home; if I'm missing home, I've got three Minnesotans on the team, which is nice. 
 
Q: Before Cornell, how much time would you spend on the ice?
A: During the winter season my high school team would practice every day and play (games) Friday and Saturday, kind of like we do here, we'd have Sunday off. I was on the ice a lot during the week, but we never did any off-ice work, we never lifted or did any conditioning, so that was all pretty new to me when we came to Cornell and you are combining both of those in during the season. During the summers, I'd work out off the ice mostly and incorporate some on-ice skills. It's definitely a lot of hockey coming here, and balancing that with school has been a challenge, but the upperclassmen have been really helpful, and the coaching staff, to make sure everyone's comfortable and transitioning smoothly. 
 
Q: Do you have any other hobbies or interests outside of hockey?
A: I like to go up to my cabin and go on the lake. In Minnesota it's kind of a big deal, we are the Land of 10,000 Lakes. A lot of people spend their time on the lake during the summer just hanging out or boating, or just hanging out outside with family or friends.
 
Q: Did you do any other activities in your youth?
A: I played soccer up until I was in tenth grade. I started playing soccer, and even tennis, before I started playing hockey. Both my parents played soccer so I was kind of automatically enrolled. No one in my family played hockey so I was a soccer player growing up.
 
Q: So how did you get your start in hockey?
A: My neighbor. I was like eight or nine years old and my neighbor was going to hockey practice. He came over, in his hockey gear, and was like 'I'm going to hockey practice' and both my brother and I went up to our dad and said we wanted to play hockey. And that's how it started.
 
Q: Just a neighbor in hockey gear! Tell me more about your family. You've mentioned your dad and your brother, what's your family look like?
A: I have my mom and my dad, they were both born and raised in Minnesota. Then I have one of my brothers, Eli, he's 16. Then Darley is my other brother, and he's from Haiti. He started living with us when he was a freshman, and he's a senior now, so four years he's lived with us. We got involved with him through a program called Haitian Initiative, where they bring a soccer team from Haiti to Minnesota to play in a tournament. You have host families who host the kids for the month that they are there and we hosted Darley and we formed a special connection with him. We brought him back the next summer to live with us and learn English. It was part of a leadership program, then after that we decided that we wanted to try to help him so we brought him here for high school and he's been with us ever since. He'll be a senior this year, and he's hoping to play Division I soccer somewhere next year, which is pretty cool. He comes from absolutely nothing, he's from Cite Soleil, Haiti, which is a slum in Haiti and one of the most dangerous places in the world. Where he lives he has no electricity, no water, no food, nothing like that. 
 
Q: What was it like living with him? Was it an adjustment for your family?
A: It was definitely an adjustment but it was a no brainer. All of us, we talked about bringing him here to the states and it was a no brainer for us to say yes. But adding someone to your family, especially at our age, I was 15 at the time and my brother was 13, it was a big adjustment for us. At first, I was a little iffy about it and now we have another person in our family. It didn't feel the same and now I can't imagine him not being in our family. He's my brother. 
 
Q: It's a good thing it's been a good experience for you. So Darley is interested in doing DI soccer next year. Is there anything that Eli is interested in? 
A: Eli plays hockey too but he's more of a lacrosse player. He's a really good lacrosse player, he's a sophomore this year. We will see what happens with that but he's the lacrosse guy. 
 
Q: Has sports always been huge in your family?
A: Yeah. My dad played rugby at Notre Dame. My mom was a soccer player, my dad played soccer in high school, too, and he swam, he played tennis. My grandpa played football and basketball. It's always kind of been in my family to just try all different kinds of sports. My uncle played hockey, actually, in high school, but he's the only one that I know of that played hockey besides my brother and I. 
 
Q: Do you think that sport mentality in your family is what led you to want to be involved in sports for your career?
A: Yeah, probably. Ever since a young age, I was just obsessed with sports and watching them on tv. Then as I got older, I'd watch them on tv and then I'd be looking on the stats online; I would try to memorize all the players and know all their names and numbers and their stats. Now it's kind of a thing that I've acquired a lot of knowledge over the years, I would say, and something that I'm definitely interested in moving forward. 
 
Q: Is there anything interesting that I should know, about you or your teammates, that we didn't cover?
A: We did beat, my Minnesota State champion team, the two state championships I won we beat Sam Burke and Joie Phelps' team both years. I have a dog named Lucy, she's a goldendoodle. I love dogs.
 

Freshman Friday

Jan. 24: Elana Zingas
Jan. 31: Kaitlyn Isaac
Feb. 7: Izzy Daniel