New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 62

BAIOCCO

Hangin' out with ...
John baiocco

Photo: Yale Athletics

What's the biggest difference
between freshman and sophomore
seasons? "Obviously the experience. You're
playing more confidently now. You know what
the game is going to be like. It's totally different
than juniors. It's getting used to the pace and
getting the confidence knowing you have that
experience under your belt."
How did you prepare for this season?
"After the season it's nice to take a break from
skating and get in the weight room and work on
your strength. Later in the summer I'll ramp up
how much I skate and keep a consistent strength
schedule during the week, working out five or six
times. I work out at home, 10 minutes from my
house with my trainer. It's a good system I have
in place."
What are your personal goals for this
season? "I think contributing as much as I can to
the team. This is the best team we've had. I think
we can go far. It would be nice to contribute
offensively and defensively. It's nothing specific,

Key facts

Favorites

Team: Yale | Position: Forward | Class: Sophomore
Hometown: New Vernon, N.J.
Honors: 2013 hockey player of the year from MSG, Newark
Star-Ledger, NJISAA and Daily Record, 2013 first-team AllState and All-Conference, won four state championships and
two Gordon Cup Conference titles at Delbarton, as a freshman led all newcomers in goals and game-winning goals.

Pregame meal: "Penne pasta with
marinara sauce and a chicken breast
to go along with it."
Visiting arena: RPI or Quinnipiac
Practice drill: "Milwaukee threeon-two. I don't know why Coach calls

just doing what I can to be most successful."
How has the team been able to start
the season successfully? "Structurally we're
a strong team. Coach has a good plan for us that
we practice day-in and day-out. We're structured
in our roles. We're sound defensively. We need to
work on our offense. Last night (in a loss to 3-2
RPI on Nov. 13) we outshot them but struggled
to put any away. But we're sound defensively. It's
what defines us."
How different were North Dakota and
Iowa, where you played in the uSHL, from
New Jersey? "It was a change of pace. I had to get
used to the weather. It was eye opening. You walk
outside and it's sub-zero. The whole family experience was new to me. I wasn't totally comfortable
going in, but at the end of the day it was comfortable. The whole lifestyle is slower out there. It was a
nice change of pace and I enjoyed it."
What's the best piece of advice you
ever received? "Probably play confident and
be satisfied with the results. There's a point in

it, that but when he says it we know
what to do and where to go."
Food: Steak
Vacation spot: Nantucket
Musician: Drake
Song: "What Do You Mean?" by
Justin Bieber
Actor/actress: Vince Vaughn

time transitioning from high school to USHL. I
was losing confidence and it was affecting my
game. Playing with confidence keeps your game
where it should be and helps you not make
mistakes. And if you do make them you can live
with them."
What's your favorite thing to do when
you're not playing hockey? "I'm usually
hanging out with the guys. We play spike ball.
We hang out in our dorm. There's not much
going on."
What has been your favorite class at
Yale? "Probably 'International Challenges of
the 21st Century.' Each lecture is a new rising
challenge the world is facing in the 21st century.
We'll talk about the lack of water causing problems around the world, problems in Syria. It's a
political science class, which will be my major,
and I think it's an important class with all the
problems in the world today. It's very real and
very entertaining."

Movie: "Wedding Crashers"
TV show: "Entourage"
Video game: FIFA
Sport other than hockey:
Lacrosse
Team: New York Rangers
Article of clothing: "My Yale
Hockey sweatshirt."

- PHIL SHoRE

Equipment
Stick: "I use the Vapor 1x."
Helmet: "Bauer. We all wear
the same one."
Gloves: Bauer 4-roll
Skates: "The new Vapors."

New England Hockey Journal - December 2015

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