University of Minnesota Athletics
Around the Rink: Taylor Cammarata
2/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) Gopher Hockey senior Taylor Cammarata enters this weekend's Big Ten series at Ohio State on a three-game point streak, having notched five points (two goals, three points) in the program's three-game winning streak.
A native of Plymouth, Minn., has factored into the deciding goal in two of those wins -- scoring the game-winning goal in Saturday's 5-2 win over Penn State and also setting up Minnesota's initial goal two weeks ago in a 4-0 shutout over Bemidji State.
The forward has 12 points this season (three goals, nine assists) and 85 points (23 goals, 62 assists) in 137 career games with the Gophers.
GopherSports.com caught up with Cammarata recently for this edition of Around the Rink.
As a senior, you're once again in the middle of a hunt for a Big Ten regular-season championship, which would be this program's sixth-straight overall regular-season title. How big would it be for your class to go out with a fourth conference title and, likely as a result of that, a chance to get back into the NCAA tournament?
It would be huge. That's what we are working towards every day in practice and competing every weekend for. As you get older, you realize just how hard it is to win those league championships. Every year it seems like it comes down to the last game or two, and we've had to battle all year long to get the job done. If we take care of business at home and catch some breaks on the road, we can hopefully hang another banner at the end of the year.
You and Justin Kloos have been teammates for parts of six seasons now including five seasons (one with the Waterloo Black Hawks and four here at the University of Minnesota) where you have played together regularly. Are you starting to get sick of each other yet?
No, not one bit. Justin's a great guy and a great leader. It doesn't actually seem like it's been that long, but it has been a while now that I think about it. We've always gotten along really well, and it's been a lot of fun playing with him all these years. We've shared a lot of big moments together, and hopefully we can close out this part of our careers with a couple more as the season moves forward.
What would you say is the best aspect of your game?
I think it's my vision and my hockey IQ. I really enjoy being the setup guy and helping make plays. It helps when you get to skate with great players like I have been able to do here.
You had a big night on Saturday in the win over Bemidji State, scoring a power-play goal and adding an assist. What's clicking right now for your power-play unit?
I think what makes our unit dangerous is that we have so many weapons. Our scoring is spread out, everybody finds a way to contribute, and it's not all the same play. We find a lot of different ways to put the puck in the net. That makes us hard to coach against and hard to play against too.
You play tennis as a hobby, what do you like about that sport and who else on the team is a good tennis player?
I actually played my sophomore year of high school at Shattuck-St. Mary's, and I've always liked Roger Federer. Tennis is actually pretty good for hockey players with the short sprints and everything. As for guys on our team, I've played against Vinni, Kloos and Bischoff - they are all good tennis players.
Taylor Cammarata Quick Hits
Who Plays You in a Movie: Al Pacino
Favorite Food: Barbeque
Funniest Guy on the Team: Brent Gates Jr.
Smartest Guy on the Team: Mitch Rogge
Favorite NHL Player: Danny Briere
Favorite Gopher: Marion Barber
Top Hobby: Tennis
