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Athlete of the Week: Ray GirouxBy Patrick McGarvey Thirteen is generally considered to be an unlucky number, but not for Ray Giroux, BK '98, captain of the men's ice hockey team. This past week, his Bulldog squad was voted 13th best in the nation by a midseason press poll. Wins against Colgate and previously seventh-ranked Cornell on the road launched the team into its current position. After several years of lackluster performances by the Blue, this year's team has pulled together and has landed big victories early in this season."One hundred percent of the team's success can be attributed to Ray's leadership," teammate Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, declared. Giroux has the second highest point total on the team and leads all defensemen in scoring. He has been a strong and consistent player for the Blue since his freshman year. A team leader in years past, he was the only member of last year's squad to be named to an all-ECAC team. Giroux led the conference in scoring for defensemen last year while earning second team All-Ivy honors. This year, he and goalie Alex Westlund, SM '99, have paired up to give Yale one of the strongest defensive corps in the league. Giroux's accurate shot has been the cornerstone of a balanced team that strikes often and pulls out the goals late in the game.
The competitive Canadian was a multi-sport phenomenon in high school, earning all-Ontario honors in baseball before playing junior hockey in Powassan, Ontario, Canada. Giroux first strapped on the skates when he was four years old, and the combination of long winters and short Canadian summers dictated that Giroux would spend more time playing hockey. In tenth grade, Giroux decided he wanted to keep playing hoc-key at the highest possible competitive level, so he quickly made college hockey a goal. This year he returned as the second Giroux to be elected captain by his Yale teammates. Ray's bro-ther Rich, BK '95, was the leader of the 1994-95 squad, making the pair the first set of siblings in Bulldog history to captain the same sport. "The fact that my brother was at Yale greatly influenced my decision to come here," Giroux said. Rich and Ray played together for two years, and Ray considers his brother to be one of his "best friends." The Elis head down to New Jersey to face a strong Priceton squad on Sat., Dec. 6. It will be their last game before the holiday break, and they are preparing for a tough battle. Leading his nationally- ranked squad, Giroux just may come out of the weekend with a new lucky number.
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