UNH Recruit Profile: Goalie Danny Tirone

Danny Tirone (Photo: loomischaffee.org)

One of the premiere goalies in prep school hockey has committed to play for the University of New Hampshire. 18-year-old Danny Tirone (DOB: 6/3/1994), the 5'11", 180 lbs. netminder and co-captain for the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut, recently completed an award-winning season. Tirone (Pronounced Ti-row-knee) was in goal for 24 of Loomis' 25 games and played nearly every minute for the Pelicans (1253 out of 1340 total minutes). He posted an impressive .933 save percentage which was 3rd-best among all New England Prep School goalies. He allowed only 1 goal in 9 games and 2 or fewer goals in 12.

UNH's Newest Recruit Danny Tirone
(Photo: loomischaffee.org)

For his banner senior season, Danny Tirone was selected to the First Team of the All-New England team by the NE Prep School Ice Hockey Coaches. A couple weeks ago, Tirone earned the Prep School Player of the Year Award from U.S. Hockey Report. Former USHR Prep Players of the Year have included Brian Hart, Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider. In his junior year, Tirone missed 17 out of 25 games with an injury and Loomis Chaffee finished with a record of 2-23-0. This season, with Tirone in net, they improved to 13-11-1 and just missed qualifying for the NE Prep Large School Tournament.

Danny Tirone played his fall season hockey with the Connecticut Wolf Pack U18 Midget Major Elite team based in Cromwell. The Wolf Pack compiled a record of 20-8-4 and are currently ranked 13th among USA Midget U18 teams. Tirone's record was 8-3-1 with a 1.53 Goals Against Average.

In his sophomore year, Tirone ventured from his home in Cromwell, CT to attend the prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, MN. Tirone split the goaltending duties for the U16 team with Anthony Brodeur, son of legend Martin Brodeur. Tirone played in 27 games for Shattuck-St. Mary's and had a winning record of 24-2-1. His 1.88 GAA and .922 Save% was somewhat better than Brodeur's.

For the last few years, Tirone has trained with Goalie Development Services (GDS) which is based at the Ice Den Arena in Hooksett, NH. Mike Buckley, the President and Head Instructor at GDS, is also the goalie coach for UNH.

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to interview Danny Tirone, via email, about his background and his commitment to UNH:   

  Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"):  Congratulations on your commitment to play for the University of New Hampshire.  What are the main reasons you chose UNH?
  Danny Tirone:  There were so many reasons why I decided UNH was the right place for me. I always wanted to play Hockey East, so that was a huge bonus for me. I really liked the campus and the town. I felt that the community was certainly a good fit for me.
UNH has always been in the hunt for a national championship and I felt that UNH would give me the best chance to be on a championship team. The tradition of UNH hockey is so strong and I could feel it when I watched a game on my visit. I had such a fantastic experience just watching a game in the “Whitt” that I can only imagine playing in it!

  Mike Lowry:  What other college programs were you considering?
Danny Tirone:  I was also considering the University of Vermont and Harvard, but when it came time to make a decision, UNH really stood out and made it an easy choice for me.

Lowry:  Have you and the UNH coaches agreed on a target date for you to enroll as a freshman at UNH and join the team?
  Tirone:  Yes, the UNH coaches and I have agreed that I will be joining the team as a freshman in the fall of 2015.

Lowry:  You just completed a very successful season as the captain of the Loomis-Chaffee team. After you graduate this spring, do you plan on playing junior hockey? If so, what leagues would you consider playing in?
Tirone:  Yes, I plan on playing junior hockey for the next two years before I arrive at UNH. I think right now I am mostly looking at the USHL. I have heard excellent remarks about the league and I have quite a few friends who have had successful careers in the USHL. Some other leagues that I would consider playing in are the BCHL and the EJHL.

Lowry:  Please describe your training experiences at the Goalie Development Services (GDS). Which goalie instructor(s) do you currently work with?
Tirone:  I have trained with GDS since the summer of 2010. The whole time I have been training with the founder of GDS, Mike Buckley. I work with Mike three times a week in the summer and numerous times throughout the season.
Since I started training with Mike, I have seen all areas of my game improve. Mike has helped me not only increase my physical game on the ice by making me more efficient and technically sound, but he has also helped me reach new levels when it comes to my focus and mental approach to the game.

Lowry:   What are the strongest aspects of your goaltending skills and what areas are you working to improve?
Tirone:  I think that the strongest aspects of my goaltending skills are my speed, my athleticism, and my overall compete level when I am in the net. I feel that it is always important to be working to improve both strengths and weaknesses.
I am always trying to get faster and more powerful. Lately, I have been working to improve my ability to read the play, my aggressiveness on the shooter, and efficiency in my movements throughout the crease.

Lowry: What are your academic strengths? Is there a major course of study you would like to pursue when you get to UNH?
Tirone:  Throughout high school, I have done well in my science classes. This year I have been taking Anatomy and have really enjoyed the class and a lot of the information we have studied has appealed to me. Over the past few years I developed an interest in Kinesiology. UNH offers Kinesiology as a major, which is another reason why I felt the school would be a great fit for me.



Adam Clark, currently the goalie for the Salmon Arm SilverBacks of the British Columbia Hockey League, is on target to enroll at UNH in the Fall of 2014. With Danny Tirone coming in the Fall of 2015, UNH will have a formidable goalie tandem through the end of the decade.