From the age of three, Zach Frank has been in skates.
Wanting to stay in shape and further craft his skills, Frank found another sport that would accomplish both tasks: lacrosse.
Starting in the third grade, Frank played as a midfielder (commonly known as a “middie”). From here, parallels between the two games start to align.
The middie position parallels that of a center in hockey. They both take the faceoffs, are lined up in the middle of the field/ice, get back on defense and more often than not are facilitators for the attacks/forwards who score a majority of the team's goals.
Frank has also seen the parallels.
“I think they went hand in hand for the most part,” says Frank.
The previously mentioned parallels, however, are only surface deep.
In Frank's case, earning the possession is one of the biggest roles for a middie/center. Consistently going after ground balls on the field, translates to scraps in the corners of the rink fighting after loose pucks.
When middies score it’s typically by driving down the lane, similar in the way that a basketball player scores a bucket. The physicality that ensues from driving down the lane toughens and molds scorers into fearless scorers.
According to Frank, this physicality has helped him develop his “net front presence,” offensively. But he chose to stick with hockey as he grew older, but never forgot the lessons he learned in lacrosse.
Having another sport to help him develop his hockey skills, Frank received some attention to play in college from Walsh University and Lake Erie College.
While tempting, hockey has always been Zach’s first love and the decision was made to pursue hockey.
Coming to Ohio
Frank’s recruitment process wasn’t one filled with strain or indecisiveness. Rather it was filled with clarity and direction. Current Bobcat Gianni Evangelisti played a large role in getting Frank to Athens. Both Evangelisti and Frank played on the South Shore Kings in the U.S. Premier Hockey League, with Evangelisti leaving to join the Bobcats last season.
Frank previously played for the East Coast Eagles and the Carolina Eagles in the USPHL Elite before joining the South Shore Kings. He registered 12 points in 36 games as a King, and through his three years in USPHL Elite, Empire and Premier, was a 0.69 point-per-game player.
While they were on separate teams, the two stayed in touch talking about a multitude of things. But perhaps the most important was hockey, Ohio Hockey.
While Evangelisti served as the messenger, the history of the program sold the deal.
“It’s an absolute legacy here at OU,” Frank said. “It’s an honor to play here.”
Zach joins a team that made it all the way to the American Collegiate Hockey Association championship, ultimately losing 3-0 against Central Oklahoma.
His impact will need to be immediate, as the Bobcats lost 10 seniors after this past season. Fueled with confidence, Frank finds that Athens will serve as home.
“The second you step on campus, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Frank said.
