After backstopping the El Paso Rhinos to both a Thorne Cup and United Hockey Union National Championship, goaltender Bryce Fink has committed to play his college hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the fall.
The Thorne Cup Most Valuable Player came to the Rhinos at the trade deadline in January, a move which was made as a favor to him by Seattle Totems General Manager/Head Coach Mike Murphy, who wanted to give the homegrown product a chance to finish his junior career with a championship.
The Tacoma, Washington native came to El Paso as the back-up to Adam Vay, who lost only one game all season but Fink quickly showed he was more than capable of shouldering the load, going 6-0-0 down the stretch of the regular season, before taking over the number one role and going 9-0-0 in the playoffs, including wins in both championship games.
Prior to the championship run in El Paso, Fink spent nearly four full seasons in Totems green, with his numbers consistently amongst the league’s best. Even as Seattle hit some bumps against tougher competition over the last two years and Fink was forced to sometimes face 60-plus shots per night, he found a way to keep his save percentage well above .900 and hit double digits in wins every year.
Showing his leadership and likability in the locker room, Fink was also an assistant captain of the team for two seasons and also picked up personal achievements like being named the NORPAC Rookie of the Year in 2011, Goaltender of the Year in 2012 and the Totems Team MVP in 2013, to go along with his 2014 Thorne Cup MVP.
A true battler that finds ways to win games, Fink will have a great chance to keep his championship pedigree alive at Wisconsin-Superior, which competes in the prestigious Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and has won NCAA Division III National Titles in 1976 and 2002.
Fink had this to say about his collegiate choice, “I’m honored to join the great hockey tradition at Wisconsin-Superior and would like to thank my parents and coaches Mike Murphy, Kris Wilson and Cory Herman for their encouragement and assistance in helping me reach my goal.”
The WSHL joins the Totems and Rhinos in wishing Bryce the best of luck at Wisconsin-Superior, where he’ll surely come in and compete for minutes from day one.
