If you wanted to put a frame around the playing career of Penn State senior forward Glenn Zuck, picture the goal he scored late in the first period three weeks ago against then-No. 14 Delaware.
Skating through center ice, Zuck collected a pass that traveled nearly two-thirds of the ice in the air with one hand while wrestling with one defenseman, and after a few powerful strides he had split the two defensemen, warding them off his back like Billy Bob from Varsity Blues.
Quickly, Zuck skated in alone on Blue Hens goalie Mike Verdi, dropping his left shoulder as if to shoot before going right to get the goalie to go down. Hanging onto the puck for what seemed like forever, he flipped the puck into the little bit of space he had over Verdi.
Soft hands, strong on the puck, deceptively quick skater and brilliant finisher -- he embodies them all. But for Penn State Icers coach Joe Battista, it's his ability to drive to the net that makes Zuck so special. He's gotten a lot of goals that way, including the freeze-frame moment against Delaware.
"Teams have to focus on him, and even with that, they haven't been able to stop him," Battista said. "That goal pretty much shows what he can do."
However, get inside of the head of the man who currently sits second all-time in goals (120), assists (173) and points (293) in Icers history and you'll find a drive that surpasses any move he makes on the ice.
It's a drive fueled by doubt, naysayers and future expectations. It's a drive fueled by a mother who worked two and three jobs at a time just to get him to this point and a father who, despite being legally blind, has always been there for him. And it's a drive fueled lastly by the one thing he fears the most -- failure.
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Zuck fell in love with the game of hockey at the tender age of four, when his father, Glenn Sr., deemed him old enough to skate on his own and took him out on the pond for the first time.
It was an instant attraction for Zuck. Not necessarily the games so much. That would come later. But just going to the rink or out on the pond where he could just stretch out his legs and be free do to what he enjoys most -- skate.
Quickly his love for skating turned into something more, as the Clifton, N.J., native grew into what would be his 6-foot-2 inch frame, and at the end of his sophomore year in high school he transferred to Canterbury Prep School in Connecticut.
It's a move that did not come without its difficulties. Because of a childhood disease, Glenn Sr.'s vision deteriorated to the point where he was deemed legally blind, though he does have some vision.
Unable to draw a paycheck, the pressure to support the family financially fell on his mother Linda, who many days worked two and three jobs to make ends meet, ends that were stretched to the max partly because of the sport Glenn loved so much.
All of this has pulled at Zuck, the older of two children, who may one day be able to pay back his parents and then some. However, it's the fear that he never will be able to do so that has driven him.
"In everything I do, that's my motivation," Zuck said. "That's why I don't want to fail because I feel like if I'm failing myself then I'm kind of failing her. That's one of the things, deep down, that really drives me to succeed, to be the best I can."
Repeating his sophomore year of high school, a common thing for the student-athletes at Canterbury, Zuck flourished in his three seasons there, where he was an All-New England conference defenseman.
As he continued to grow, so too did the attention from college coaches, including Penn State and Battista. Following the prep school scene, Battista traveled to a tournament in New Jersey right before Christmas in 1999 to watch Zuck, where he met the senior and his parents briefly to show his interest.
However, while Battista sent Zuck all the necessary information, he never really heard back from him. Month after month passed and still no answer.
On the other side, Zuck had greater aspirations. Playing highly competitive hockey in the New England region and being an accomplished student, an Ivy League school -- namely Dartmouth -- seemed the next logical step, one that could lead ultimately to professional hockey and a paycheck. The education wasn't far behind either.
But just when it seemed that his goal could be reached, interest wavered because of a combination of academics and financial concerns and Zuck was left to deal with the disappointment of not going to an Ivy League school. He called Battista back in April and asked if he still could go there. Boy could he ever.
"I set a new record for the dash between [his office] and admissions after I got that call," Battista said laughing.
But when someone sets goals that lofty, there's bound to be some disappointment. Some thoughts of 'what if?' Zuck had those thoughts, not so much because he didn't like Penn State but rather because no other team had taken a chance on him because deep down he knew he could play at that next level.
"I was disappointed, very disappointed and I carried that with me for a few years," Zuck said. "I still kind of think about it sometimes and I still get pissed off about it, but like I said there is nothing you can do about it."
The only thing he could do was let his play do the talking, proving to himself and those who passed over him what they were missing. Only he wasn't going to be contributing on defense, the position he spent three years perfecting at Canterbury.
Hitting what he called the "jackpot for defenseman" that year, Battista had the luxury of moving one of his defensemen to offense, and he quickly targeted Zuck for the job.
Playing alongside senior Alon Eizenman, who finished his career fifth all-time in points, his freshman year, Zuck flourished, leading the team in goals (25) while tying for the team lead in assists (34). The Icers won their second straight national championship that season and Zuck was named Icers Rookie of the Year and was named to the ACHA All-American third team.
His sophomore and junior years were more of the same. The Icers won two more national championships. He was the leading scorer for the Icers both seasons, including leading the ACHA his junior year with 88 points, and he was awarded back-to-back first team ACHA All-American honors.
However, being the best player on the best team for three straight years also means you have the biggest target on your back, fairly or unfairly. Zuck heard the whispers. The fact that Eizenman said he didn't pass the puck enough and that he scored too many goals. Or that, while a great offensive talent, he took shifts off on defense. That he was a puck hog and that he wasn't a team leader.
So how does he stay motivated in games that are often over before they start, and when he finally does get on the ice, he looks like a man among boys on most nights and teams often retaliate with an extra whack of the stick?
Try by thinking about those who want to doubt him.
"Not to throw it back in their face but just to kind of say I'm a complete player, I'm not a puck hog, and I don't just score goals," Zuck said.
He certainly has gone about proving everybody and anybody wrong this season.
Where to start? Perhaps on defense, where Battista has used Zuck this year to kill penalties for the first time, something he did not do over his first three years because before he did lack that commitment to two-way hockey.
On to the assist department where, with 50 helpers -- along with 32 goals -- heading into the national tournament this season, Zuck is on pace to surpass last season's mark of 53 assists, a mark that has him second all-time in assists for a season in Icers history. He is, as Battista continues to point out, No. 2 all-time on the assist list.
Then there was the Jan. 16 victory over then No. 2 Rhode Island, 7-2, after which Battista awarded Zuck an assistant captaincy to a roar of applause from his teammates in the bawls of the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.
And sure, he still may not complete every check or may shoot when he should pass or try one too many fancy moves, but he's working at it. Working to make sure there are no more doubts, working to show those D-I schools that passed on his talents what they missed, and working so that one day his parents won't have to any more.
"It's like anything else, players at their level are often misunderstood," Battista said. "I think he's beginning to realize that not only is he a great player but he can make the people around him better if he wants to. I certainly hope he gets the chance to go out as a champion. Hopefully he'll not only do that with his performance but also by leadership as well."
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You can't put a frame around Zuck's future, because it's full of uncertainty. What he does know is that he will graduate from Penn State with a degree in finance, which will undoubtedly be able to pay the bills once he learns the ropes.
However, he has future aspirations of playing minor league hockey, if not in the professional ranks one day. While his conscience tells him he can do it for a living, as does Battista, statistics would argue otherwise.
"After a certain period of time if nothing really happened for you, it's kind of time to let it go. That's going to be a tough day for me when that comes," Zuck said. "It's so tough competition wise. You put your whole life into hockey...I'm not going to let it go that easily. It's probably going to be the toughest day of my life when I have to maybe make that realization. I hope I don't have to."
That's because failure is something he has never been good at.
