Australian and Michigan Tech Huskies forward Tyrone Bronte is set to battle the number one ranked NCAA hockey team, Boston College, in the NCAA Regional tournament. Bronte spoke to Hockey Hype Australia about his college career, his start in hockey, and what’s next in his hockey journey.

The two teams will battle at 2 pm on Friday in Providence, Rhode Island, which is 5 am AEDT Saturday morning. Bronte is under no illusions about the task at hand.

“They’re ranked number one, and you could probably say heavily favoured,” Bronte said with a laugh. “I’m expecting consistency from what we’ve done in the last two months.

“We didn’t have a great start to the season. To be ranked high you need to be good all season, and we didn’t really do that. So I don’t think our rank really shows where we are as a team.

“And that’s fine, we don’t play for the rank, but I just know that our team is going to give a good young team a really hard time.”

The Huskies have been playing solid defensive hockey lately, which helped get their season back on track after a slow start. Goaltender Blake Pietila has been elite, picking up his 24th career shutout, the active NCAA leader in that category, and third all-time.

“We need to score first,” Bronte continued, “or at least don’t let them put on a few goals. You have to really slow down the game because these guys can fly. We just need to limit their speed, slow them down, and once the game slows down it’s anyone’s game.

“We pride ourselves on not giving up a lot of scoring chances against,” Bronte stated. After games, players are made aware of whether they have individually been on the ice for more scoring chances for or against.

“The goal is always to have a net positive,” Bronte said, before commenting on his role in the system. “I have more speed than most guys, so my job is to use that.

“I can sometimes when I get the puck afford to use my feet and then make a play rather than have to make a play straight away. If I can contribute to scoring, perfect. I’m on the powerplay now, so setting those guys up on the powerplay is my job as well.”

Bronte has had a great campaign thus far, collecting six goals and eight assists. He has also enjoyed playing on the same team as star freshman Isaac Gordon, the CCHA Rookie of the Year.

“He’s got a lot of skill, he’s a fantastic player, and he can shoot the puck,” Bronte observed. “Like no one else can shoot the puck, he can shoot the puck.

“The last couple of months I’ve been skating with him in the mornings, and that’s been helping me work on skills, work on shooting, things like that.”

Beginnings

For Bronte, growing up there were two sports he gravitated to, football, and ice hockey. “I ended up being decent at footy and decent at hockey, and my parents were like, ‘look, you’re probably going to be an athlete, or at least try to be one, we’re not going to stop you from doing that but if you’re going to pursue hockey you’re going to have to go somewhere else [to develop]’.

When he was 12, Tyrone chose hockey as the sport of choice. His parents created an opportunity for Tyrone to head to Canada for schooling and pursue his hockey dream.

“I was raised pretty resilient, like I didn’t really mind travelling and being away from parents. My parents found a school in Canada and they were willing to take me. I’ve had so many coaches and friends help me since.”

Eventually, Bronte had to make a choice between playing in a junior league in Canada, or playing college hockey in the USA. The attraction of playing Major Junior in Canada was strong for Bronte, but his advisor encouraged him to take the college path.

A move to the USA followed where Bronte played Midget, and then made the climb through juniors, and eventually to college.

Tyrone’s brother Declan plays in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) for the Melbourne Ice, and Tyrone keeps an eye on how the Ice perform. He also spoke on the differences between NCAA level hockey and the AIHL.

“Just due to the sheer number of good level players in college hockey, it’s way more consistent. The AIHL has got good players, a good level, a good pace, but it’s nowhere near as consistent.

They’re not training as much, not funded as much, it’s no one’s fault, it’s just the country’s not as developed in hockey yet. Colleges have almost an unlimited budget, so they can hire the coaches, the trainers.

“The facilities – even at Michigan Tech which is considered a small school – is uncanny. You wouldn’t believe the facilities we have and the access we have.

“You’re expected to perform, if you don’t you lose your spot, you lose your scholarship. I just think the stakes are a bit higher,” Bronte concluded.

Bronte brings plenty of energy to the line-up, and this season he has been rewarded on the scoresheet. “It’s been in my bag,” Bronte chuckled on his scoring.

“I feel like I’ve been able to take that next step in the last few months,” Bronte mused. A change in diet and training has led to Bronte feeling better and having more energy on the ice.

“Because of that, I’ve been put into more situations and positions of responsibility on the team, and I’ve been capitalising.”

What’s Next?

The goal for Bronte is simple. “To play as long and as high of a level as I can,” he said. Bronte’s wife works remotely, so opportunities could be sought in Europe, or other areas in North America.

The East Coast Hockey League is front of mind for Bronte as he seeks to play professional hockey. However, Tyrone is eager to play for the Australian Senior Men’s team in the future.

“You’ll see me in the green and gold. My main goal for that, other than representing Australia, is to play for Australia. Any opportunity to play with Declan, I’ll do it.”

It will be exciting to see what is next for Tyrone, and where he makes his next stop. But up next is a battle with Boston College, and Bronte is proud to be flying the Aussie flag for Michigan Tech.

“Watch me flying down the right wing, trying to burn some defensemen. It’s going to be gritty, I’ll be doing my best to represent Australia and Michigan Tech.”