By John Hepokoski
UWRF Sports Information

Every hockey team has at least one player who looks to make his teammates better. The Falcon men's hockey team has Tyler Kostiuk.

While growing up in British Columbia, Kostiuk picked up the game of hockey early from battling it out with his two brothers. He was, in the true sense of the words, a "rink rat." He learned to make plays and see the ice from spending time on the ice.

"We had a rink in our backyard which was fun. I would play hockey out there all the time with my Dad and my brothers," said Kostiuk.

Kostiuk also enjoyed playing soccer in his youth but hockey remained the dominant sport in his life.

After playing a lot of hockey and getting a lot of experience as a youth, Kostiuk left his hometown of Cranbrook and moved on to play juniors with Fernie of the AWHL.

While at Fernie, Kostiuk played with now Falcon teammate Jared Sailer and showed great promise. Kostiuk spent his first season learning the ropes and getting used to the pace of the game. Kostiuk would break out in his second season when he put the puck in the net 19 times and led the league in assists with 61.

"We went to the National Championship Tournament when I was a rookie at the age of 18, it was an exciting experience," he said of his time spent in juniors.

After juniors, both Kostiuk and Sailer were recruited by Falcon Head Coach Steve Freeman and Assistant Coach Bob Ritzer.

"The coaches made a trip out to Fernie and looked at us both when they were out there," said Kostiuk.

Kostiuk made the decision to come to River Falls and the Falcons have benefited greatly.

Kostiuk's freshman season was a success as he tallied eight assists and six goals. Both the Falcon team and fans knew they had something to look forward to in the years to come out with Kostiuk o the ice.

In his second collegiate season, Kostiuk played in 15 games yet assisted on four Falcon goals. Kostiuk looked to rebound from his off year and to capitalize in this, his third season.

This season, Kostiuk has been a great leader on the ice and has made many key plays.   Through 15 games, Kostiuk has recorded three goals and four assists to help the Falcons to a 9-3-3 record overall and a 3-2-1 record in NCHA play, going into this weekend's non-conference games against St. Mary's and St. Thomas. "He's one of those guys who absolutely loves the game of hockey and you can tell by the way he plays out there on the ice," said Freeman of the 5-10, 170 pounder.

Kostiuk has learned a lot from playing under Freeman, especially how fun the game is and how everything should be based on the team and not the individual.

"Our goal as always is to win the National Championship," said Kostiuk. "My personal goals are basically to get better every day and to give my team everything I have each night."

In his spare time Kostiuk enjoys being outside and playing a lot of golf.

Kostiuk is majoring in marketing communications and plans on graduating at the end of next year.

Tyler Kostiuk