Andrew Sacca scored three goals in Ohio’s opening series against John Carroll, but the freshman doesn’t want to brag about it.
“It’s just the first two games. There’s a lot more to come,” Sacca said. “You can’t get too high only two games into such a long season.”
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native is focused on honing his skills for future games. He believes there is always an aspect of his game he needs to work on, which was a mindset he maintained in junior hockey.
Sacca, a center, spent five years playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite system, moving up and taking knowledge from every team he played with. Sacca learned the most under Elite U18 coach Milo Cermak, who gave him the freedom to develop his own style of play.
“He’s a big player’s coach,” Sacca said. “He let us do what we wanted with the puck, and he’s big on skating and making plays with the puck. That really benefited my playstyle.”
Cermak’s leniency gave Sacca the boost he needed. Under Cermak’s coaching philosophy, Sacca scored 10 goals and 27 assists in 36 games and recorded his most productive season.
For his first year in a U18 league, Sacca took time away from Pittsburgh to play hockey in a different area. He moved to Detroit for a season to play for the AAA Little Caesars.
“Michigan hockey is something different,” Sacca said. All of the teams are incredibly competitive and it’s very physical and tough. Every night you have to go out and play hard.”
Sacca didn’t prefer Detroit over Pittsburgh, though. To him, hockey is hockey.
Standing at 5 feet, 5 inches tall, Sacca is one of the shortest players on the Bobcats roster. Before joining Ohio, Sacca was often declined from teams due to his small frame, but that didn’t bother him. He knows his value as a player and sees his height as a bonus, not a detriment.
“It is what it is,” Sacca said. “I think it’s harder for people to hit me and harder to get the puck off me. Especially in the corners, I’m quick to get out of there so people can’t push me into the boards.”
Sacca knew many of his fellow freshmen coming into this year. Players from the Pittsburgh area like Blake Rossi, J.T. Schimizzi and Ryan Leonard were all former teammates of Sacca from his time with the Penguins Elite.
“It’s funny,“ Sacca said. “Many of us didn’t talk to each other going into this, so it just kind of happened. We’re all happy that we got here.”
Sacca heard of OU through many of his friends. After hearing so much about the school, he decided to come down for a visit, and he loved it. He was approached by several other schools but none of them stuck out to him. Throughout the process, he was in contact with many assistant coaches for the Bobcats.
“They always texted me and wanted to know what I was doing,“ Sacca said. “It’s nice to feel wanted.”
Sacca feels at home with the Bobcats. He calls it one of the closest teams he’s ever been with despite only being in Athens for a month. He sees all the upperclassmen as leaders to learn from, and he said goalie Jimmy Thomas is “one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
Sacca is excited to keep playing this season. He wants to show what he can do. Most important, however, he wants to improve, and the atmosphere at Bird Arena drives him to play his best.
“I love playing in front of the fans here,” Sacca said. “The energy for the first two games was incredible. It’s nice to play in front of people who care.”
