Northeastern Senior Borgesi Leads by Example, Tops Nation in TOI For 2nd Straight Year
by Katrina Liu/CHN Reporter
Since the very first day Northeastern senior captain Vinny Borgesi stepped foot on the ice with the Huskies jersey on his back, he has worn it as a badge of honor.
“As you get older, it means a lot more, especially this year,” he said. “Every time I see the logo, or even in practice when I put the practice jersey on, or especially in games, I tell our guys all the time, it should mean the world to you.”
That loyalty bleeds through consistently, having played just about every game in four years, for a program still yearning to make it back to the NCAAs for the first time since 2022. Despite being undersized for a defenseman, he’s an iron man not just by playing, but by how much he plays, every night.
Before he bled Northeastern red, Borgesi fell in love with skating the moment he could process what it was. At three years old, he started on figure skates before starting to play hockey a year later, thanks to his father, who was a big fan of the sport.
“I was fortunate enough where my dad took me to private lessons and was really into it,” Borgesi said. “He didn’t force me, but just walked my way into just falling in love with the game itself.”
Through his days playing with teams in his youth, the Valley Forge Minutemen and prep school at the South Kent School, he credits the coaches and teammates for continuing his love for the game at every level.
“It’s all about the people that make the place, and it’s definitely a big thing in my life, where I surround myself with people that care about me a lot,” he said.
That mentality led him to Northeastern, where he is currently leading a group that has put together a 11-9-0 record.
College hockey wasn’t really ever on Borgesi’s radar. He got noticed when he was with the Minutemen playing in a tournament in Boston, when he caught the eye of Jim Madigan, former Northeastern head coach and current athletic director.
Borgesi then hopped on the phone with Madigan (this was prior to the NCAA establishing rules regarding when colleges could officially recruit players). The way Madigan treated him and his family left an impact on young Borgesi.
“The way that he spoke to me, and the way that he believed in me as a young kid … I was 14 years old. I still had four and a half years until I stepped foot on campus. Just the way that he handled things, in the way that he respected me and my parents, that went so far for me and my family,” he said.
Now, in his senior year at Northeastern with the ‘C’ on his jersey, he is still filled with gratitude for his teammates, the coaching staff and the program. Being a leader comes naturally to Borgesi, as he’s constantly energized and communicating at practice and during games. But being in a leadership position also comes with actions.
“I try to step on the ice and do everything that a captain would do, and make sure the young guys see that and making sure I’m not going through the motions and not taking anything for granted,” he said.
Head coach Jerry Keefe has seen first-hand how Borgesi has grown into himself on and off the ice.
“He’s always been a leader. but I’ve been impressed this year coming back as our captain,” Keefe said. “He’s a guy that wore an ‘A’ as a sophomore, and that speaks to how good of a leader he is. Everything is about team first with him. He takes a lot of pride in playing at Northeastern and it means a lot to him.”
Borgesi leads the entire NCAA in time on ice for the last two years, averaging 26:20 per game, actually down a tad from a remarkable 28 minutes-plus last season. He doesn’t think too much about that though, happy to contribute to the team in whatever way is most helpful.
“At the end of the day, it’s whatever the staff needs for me to do to win hockey games,” he said. “I do my job, and if they need me in every single situation, then that’s perfectly fine. I’m going to do that and do it to the best of my abilities.”
Keefe and his staff are confident deploying Borgesi in all situations.
“He’s such an elite skater and he’s able to log those minutes,” Keefe said. “Not many people can do that. He floats on the ice.”
Borgesi’s leadership was on display through the first half the semester, which would be the last semester the team would call historic Matthews Arena their home. On one hand, the last game on Dec. 13, which resulted in a 4-3 loss to Boston University, was just another game. But on the other hand, it was the end of an era, and Borgesi made sure that he and his team took it all in starting from the days leading up to that final game.
“We had so many alumni come in and out of the locker room and in the building and just meeting new people and hearing stories and listening to the memories,” he said. “The friendship that those guys have made through Northeastern, it’s so special.”
Though the team is essentially on the road for the rest of the season, the focus doesn’t change, even if the arenas do.
“We have to be comfortable with going through things that are different. We have everything that we need to be a team and it’s important for us to show up every day and get better,” Borgesi said. “We have a hockey rink, pucks, sticks and equipment. For us, it’s just so important to just not lose focus of what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.”
During the holiday break, Borgesi had the opportunity to travel to Davos, Switzerland for the Spengler Cup to captain the first ever U.S. Collegiate Selects team. The team went all the way to the finals, before losing to HC Davos, the home team. But the overall experience was “a blast,” he said.
“Those guys were just unbelievable guys to be around, and unbelievable players too,” he added. “They were so much fun to be around, and so much fun to be on the ice with and learn from.”
The team exceeded many people’s expectations and put college hockey on the radar in a part of the world where it isn’t as prominent, as shown when European hockey fans started recognizing them on their walk to their hotel and stopping to say hello and ask for autographs. Borgesi predicts that this is only the start for college hockey’s participation in the tournament.
“College hockey is so hard, and people don’t understand that,” he said. “Down the line, it’s going to become a big thing. It’s such a good idea to bring guys over there every single year.”
Though the jersey, arena and expectations have changed throughout Borgesi’s life, the one thing that hasn’t changed from the first time he held a stick is his pure love for the game. He advises players who hope to be in his position someday to have fun and nurture that love.
“If you want to take hockey seriously and you have a vision, no one’s ever going to deny that vision,” he said. “Nothing was kind of going to get in my way. I just loved the game so much, and it was all about the love for the game and just stepping out there and having fun.”