For Marcello DeAngelis, the choice to become a Blue Hen was a relatively easy one. His uncle Mike DeAngelis was the Blue Hens head coach from 2004-2010. Marcello decided to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and become a Blue Hen.
Marcello has been skating since he was three. He knew that he wanted to be involved in hockey just like his uncle, calling his uncle his “idol and I look up to him still.”
“Growing up, I played hockey, basketball and baseball. Going into high school, it was kind of hard to play all three, so I chose hockey. When I tried out for baseball, I hurt my shoulder, so that kind of ended that.”
On top of having his uncle as a role model, Marcello also chose hockey, because the teams tend to be closer-knit. “ I think it’s just the team comradery. It’s always fun to be around the guys. It’s always good to know when you’re walking around school that you’re going to have 20 best friends. I think that’s the most important thing that people kind of overlook. It’s not all about the sport, it’s about the team and how you’re going to make friends for life.”
When asked why he thinks hockey teams end up being closer-knit, Marcello said “I think since we are together Fall, Winter, and Spring that we are together the most. We have a lot of practices, a lot of games and a lot of travel together.”
Marcello almost called it a career before he got to Delaware. “I actually started out at Providence College. Before the first game of the season, I got hurt. I was going to call it a hockey career, but luckily my uncle coached here previously and he put a good word in. When I came here, I had already heard about the program for a while and it was only two hours away from my house, so it was kind of an easy decision to make.”
Marcello has enjoyed his stay at University of Delaware ever since. He has gotten involved in different programs around campus, including The Review. “It’s really opened my eyes to different kinds of journalism. I took a lot of sports stories because that’s what I’m interested in and I found it was a little easier to do than other subjects like academic work.”
Now a senior, he has seen his role as a leader grow. He sees the young team that he is a part of as the beginning of a new era. “M.F. Sherman stepped down as coach last year. Coach Romanella has come in with a whole new mindset. Also, with our top two leading scorers being freshmen, it just shows how young we are even though there are some senior leaders. It’s going to build up from the bottom, but being older I know how to go through nationals and playoffs and I can teach these guys how to win a national championship in the future.”
As someone who has gotten to know the last three University of Delaware coaches, Marcello sees a big difference between Coach Rocky and the two previous coaches. “The practices. Practices under Coach Romanella are very different than from under Sherman. Both are great coaches with different coaching styles. Coach Rocky is very hands on and likes to get involved with everything. That’s a good thing, because it keeps us active, wanting to be here and it keeps us wanting to play. I think the most important part is keeping it fun while also being competitive every single night.”
During his time here, DeAngelis says his biggest rival has been Rhode Island. He says that there has been no love lost since he has came to University of Delaware. “It hasn’t been an love-hate relationship, it’s just been all hate.” He also pointed to last seasons sweep of Rhode Island as one of the highlights of his career here at Delaware.
By: Tyler Fitzpatrick
