Men's Ice Hockey | December 21, 2016
Western Michigan hockey forward Matheson Iacopelli finished the 2015-16 season, his freshman season, scoring just one goal. Now, nearing the midpoint of the 2016-17 season, he leads the team and is tied for second in the nation with 13. After a disappointing season Iacopelli devoted the off-season to conditioning in order to improve himself and help the team. The sophomore's intense off-season conditioning, along with a sense of engagement on every puck, and using his new found strength have contributed significantly to the team's success so far this season.
The Brownstown, Mich., native's first time on the ice was at the young age of three. After falling on his butt he got up and told his mom he never wanted to play again, a memory which he laughs at looking back. Two weeks later he was back on the ice and hasn't left since.
Growing up Iacopelli was not nearly the size he is now. In his junior year of high school he was only 5-foot-9 and about 150 pounds. By his senior year he hit a growth spurt of about four inches and also began to put some weight on. Although, it was not until his second year of junior hockey that he got above 200-pound mark.
The decision to be a Bronco and play at Western Michigan University was a no-brainer for Iacopelli, and he made the choice to commit before ever taking a visit to campus.
"I remember watching Western Michigan play in the Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena growing up and I knew that I wanted to play here," Iacopelli said.
Hockey is a fast-paced game and with such a long season it is also one of the most physically demanding. The season is one of the longest of any program on campus, starting in October and ending in April. Iacopelli knew that his success on the ice would be a direct result of how well he conditioned himself to be able to play with the fast pace of college hockey. Standing tall at 6-feet 2 he had to learn how to use his large frame to be play more physical and use as leverage over his competition, something he was not used to.
"The speed and intensity that college is played at compared to juniors is a big difference," Iacopelli said. "The jump from juniors to college was a pretty big jump and I had a hard adjustment period."
Following a frustrating season that ended with just eight wins in total, Iacopelli went back home to Detroit, Mich., and took some time to reflect and decided to rely on old training techniques, starting with cardio.
"One of my biggest flaws last year was that I would get tired too quickly," Iacopelli said. "I start doing a lot of bike workouts and running on dry land to cut down on my body fat.
After returning to WMU mid-summer Tim Herrmann, the strength and conditioning coach, tried something new with the team, a machine called a tendo unit. A tendo unit measures bar speed during lifting exercises. Each week Herrmann encouraged the team to get a faster speed to see how much they pushed themselves.
Taking control of his own destiny, Iacopelli's off season work can be seen in all areas of his game not just scoring. Head coach Andy Murray highlighted the fact that he has become a "make it happen" person and a player his teammates can count on every night.
"He can play with the fast pace of the game, he's on every puck, and squeezes everything he can out of every shift", said Murray. "He's using his size and leverage and I don't think he did that last year."
Teammate and captain Sheldon Dries commends Iacopellis's work ethic and leadership qualities.
"He has a leader mentality and he's only a sophomore, but he's also 22 years old," Dries said. "Coming in as a 21-year old freshman he has a certain level of maturity amongst the team that the guys can look up to."
After a season that failed to live up to the expectations of anyone in the program Murray implanted in his players mind the ideal of being elite and believes that Iacopelli reflects that.
"We are an elite program, we receive elite treatment on campus, and it was time we start playing like that," Murray said.
"Ask any of our players how they are feeling today? And if they don't reply, better then come and tell me," Murray said jokingly. "We encourage our players to be better than they were yesterday and make other people feel better because they had the chance to meet you and Iacopelli is doing that."
After an interaction with Iacopelli you will walk away feeling great. His contagious smile and fun spirit makes you feel better. Whether it's a funny story about his childhood, making the guys laugh in the locker room, or loving on his seven nieces and nephews who mean the world to him. He is very popular because of the way he makes people feel. A multifaceted man on and off the ice.
