Wednesdays with... Simon Fraser defenceman Mathew Berry-Lamontagna

"Wednesday with..." is a weekly feature on BCIHL.ca that gets fans up close and personal with a different player from around the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League.

Wednesday, November 28th with... Simon Fraser University defenceman Mathew Berry-Lamontagna

When all is said and done, SFU's fifth-year defenceman may go down as one of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League's best-ever at his position. The 25-year old joined the Clan in 2014 and has been a bigtime contributor at both ends of the ice, as well as the league's current ironman. Berry-Lamontagna has played in all 107 of SFU's regular season games since he joined the team, and is just 12 shy of Shawn Mueller for the all-time BCIHL record for games played.

Before joining the Clan, Berry-Lamontagna enjoyed a four-year junior hockey career that began with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders. He joined the West Kelowna Warriors midway through the 2011-12 season and went on to play over 100 BCHL games with the Warriors, Coquitlam Express and Cowichan Valley Capitals.

His BCIHL career includes four All-Star Team selections, and in 2016 he was named the league's Top Defenceman. Heading into action this weekend he is tied for the all-time BCIHL points lead by a defenceman with 78 points, and holds sole possession of the career goals record with 32. He has 14 more regular season games to pad those numbers.

The one accomplishment that has thus far eluded Berry-Lamontagna has been postseason success. The Clan advanced to the 2015 BCIHL Finals during his rookie season before losing out to Selkirk College, and have not been past the first round since. The Vancouver product will look to close out his collegiate career on a winning note in March.

Berry-Lamontagna: My last year of Junior I reached out to a couple schools and decided I wanted to play close to home, and when Mark (Coletta) reached out to me I did some research and found SFU had the program I wanted to take (Environmental Science). It is a pretty renowned school so it was an easy decision to continue my hockey career close to home and get a good education.

Q: Who have been the important influences in your junior and collegiate hockey career? Who has helped you get to where you are today?

Berry-Lamontagna: My parents for sure. Hockey is not a cheap sport and they've helped with the bills and had enough trust and faith to let me leave at 16 and pursue my dream and live the junior hockey life. They always made trips out to visit me no matter where it was, whether in Saskatchewan or on the island. My dad made a big impression, he's always been a big hockey fan so I learned to love the game from him.

Q: What are your personal on-ice goals this season?

Berry-Lamontagna: I'd like to be an All Star again; I think with individual success comes team success, and I'm an older guy so I want to contribute as much as I can personally and hopefully that can lead to team success.

Q: What are your team goals this season? What are the positive signs so far this season that make you feel you can reach them?

Berry-Lamontagna: The ultimate goal is to win a championship at the end of the year. I think we've shown a lot of resiliency so far, coming back after a loss or coming from behind and winning games when we're down in the third period. Those are always good things, having a never quit attitude and being able to come back when you're down.

Q: How would you describe your game to someone who hasn’t seen you play? What are you strengths as a player?

Berry-Lamontagna: I'd call myself a two-way defenseman. My skating is one of my best attributes. I like to skate and handle the puck, and do a bit of everything. I like to chip in offensively but I think I can also excel in my own zone, I can play a little nasty, blocking shots and throwing the body around.

Q: What are your education goals and future career path?

Berry-Lamontagna: I'm in my last year of Environmental Science so I'll graduate in the spring. I've started looking into graduate programs to see where that leads me, and at the same time I'm looking at jobs coming out of school. There are lots of options for work and graduate studies in the environmental field so I've got to start looking at all my options and narrowing it down. I'll sit down and make a decision when the time comes and see what makes the most sense.