MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP – This hockey season brought a new challenge for Reeths-Puffer senior captain Andrew Bouwman – a switch to forward, after playing defense throughout his career.
To say he took to the challenge right away would be an understatement. He scored a three-goal hat trick in the first game of the season in a 5-2 victory over Kenowa Hills.
To make it even more exciting, that Nov. 19 game just happened to fall on his 18th birthday, so the season couldn’t have started out any better for Bouwman.
“It was great,” he said. “It really hyped me up for the rest of the season. It made it a lot better (that it was his birthday) because everyone was a lot more excited for me, and the energy was amazing.”
Of course no hockey player can maintain that type of scoring pace, but Bouwman has done well over the course of the season, providing some needed firepower for the Rockets with seven goals and eight assists in 14 games.
But now he’s been moved back to defense on a full-time basis, to provide some leadership and stability for the blue line crew.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” said Bouwman about playing forward. “It was fun, but it was just honestly kind of tiring. It was a good time, but I learned I wasn’t as conditioned as I thought I was.”
While conditioning was one of the biggest eye-openers in the position change, another was getting used to the flow of the game at forward, he said.
[1]“I never really had an outlook on forward or offense really,” said Bouwman, who had only totaled eight points in goals and assists as a sophomore and junior. “It kind of opened my eyes to what they see. Now I feel like as a defenseman, I should be able to feed them the puck a little better and hit them on the break a little better.”
First year Rocket head coach Ryan Martin said the position change was something he and his staff thought about over the summer.
“He’s played defense his whole life,” the coach said. “Playing forward this year was something new to him. It’s been fun to see him grow with it. He’s proven he can carry the puck, and he has a crazy hard shot. He kind of drives the play for us on both sides and really makes things happen.”
“We moved him back to defense in the last week, and he’s really taken that in stride. He’s gone back and started to provide some leadership with younger guys playing defense.”
[2]Bouwman was not playing any position in high school hockey during his freshman year, because he played AAA juniors for the Fox Motors Hockey Club. But as a sophomore, he decided to join his classmates and hit the ice for his school, despite the fact that junior hockey is often a more direct route to college hockey and other opportunities.
“I like coming out on the ice for warmups and seeing all my friends,” he said. “They come out and support us, and you don’t really get that in travel hockey.”
While the season started great for Bouwman and the Rockets, it’s become more difficult for the young, rebuilding team. Reeths-Puffer is 4-10 on the season, and has had numerous frustrating losses.
They’ve had three losses by one goal, three by two goals – and four really tough games that ended early when the other team got an eight-goal lead, prompting the high school mercy rule.
Things have improved in recent weeks, however. The Rockets recently won two games in a row, and were able to turn the tables on Jan. 21 by getting an 8-0 mercy rule victory over East Kentwood.
[3]Bouwman had two goals and an assist in that game, but he’s not a mean-spirited person, and takes no delight in the misery of others, even on the hockey rink.
“It’s never good to be mercied,” he said. “I didn’t feel great mercying East Kentwood. I felt a lot better playing Northview (a 5-3 win) because we had to battle for that. I know how the Kentwood guys felt and that’s not fun.”
The regular season is now headed into its final few weeks, and Bouwman’s prep hockey career is coming to a close.
Coach Martin says he’s grateful that he’s had a leader like Bouwman on the team in his first year behind the bench, to help begin the process of turning the program around.
“It’s a benefit for the young guys to work with someone who’s been here and is a strong leader,” the coach said. “He’s willing to play any position and help the team in any way. He provides mentorship and guidance, so hopefully the younger guys can learn and step into those roles.”
Martin said he’s not worried about the hockey legacy he leaves behind. He says he simply wants to be remembered as a guy who was a good teammate and treated others well.
“Honestly, I don’t really care about the hockey point of things.” he said. “I just want to be a good guy and cool with everyone. I don’t have problems with people. It would be great for people to say I was good at hockey, but I’m much more concerned with being a good person.”
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