WNY GIRLS FED HOCKEY FEATURE: Carissa Buyea

Carissa Buyea is the type of girl you want on your team. Whether it’s her play on the ice or the way she carries herself as a person and teammate there isn’t a single thing to dislike about her.

She’s the definition of a heart and soul player.

“I try to have a positive energy just to keep the momentum going.  Even if we’re doing bad in the game,” said Carissa Buyea. “I try to keep the energy going. You hate to be negative when you’re losing.”

A senior captain who is now in her fifth season with the Kenmore/Grand Island girls hockey team (KenGI), Buyer is the type of kid any coach would want to have suit up for them. Her kind naturally friendly way makes everyone feel welcomed and has endeared Buyea to every girl on the team.

“Carissa is that girl,” said KenGI coach Jeff Orlowski. “Everybody looks up to her, everybody loves her, everyone wants to be around her. She’s that kind of player. She’s a players favorite. She’s good in the locker room.”

Carissa Buyea has a way about her that just makes you smile whenever she walks into the room. Years from now, when looking back on their KenGI hockey days, girls will say Carissa was such a sweet, friendly girl who made our time together even more fun. Modest an unassuming, Buyea has no idea the impact she makes as a person until you point it out to her.

“Yeah that makes me smile ear to ear to hear that,” Buyea said. “I love all the girls on the team. They’re all just really good people and I try to be nice and welcoming, even the new girls. I try to be super welcoming to them. It’s a family here.”

Buyea recalls making the team as a nervous seventh grader. But the way team leaders Olivia Smith and Hannah Gallivan made her feel welcomed put all her fears and doubts to rest.

Now Buyea wants to pay that kindness forward by being the  welcoming senior ready to guide the current stable of youngsters.

“I ended up starting on that line my seventh grade year, with Olivia Smith and Hannah Gallivan,” said Buyea. “I remember how stressful that was and I looked up to them as my role models. As a seventh grader I really did look up to them.”

Orlowski doesn’t mince words when he talks about the value Carissa brings to the ice as the team’s lockdown forward. She might not light up the scoreboard with highlight reel plays, but she’ll quietly do all the little things teams need to win.

“She’s been outstanding,” said Orlowski. “She’s definitely improved her game, even more than where she was. She doesn’t stand out on the scoresheet all that often, but she is the defensive-forward that you need. She’s always in the right spot.”

Knowing that Orlowski has faith in her to be that shutdown player assigned to watch the opponent’s top scoring threat is a huge confidence boost for Buyea.

“It feels really good to have him trust me like that. To shut down all the other teams top girls,” said Buyea. “There’s obviously some pressure with that, but I can tell my value to Orlowski is high and it just feels good.”

Images Courtesy of Janet Schultz/NYHOCKEYONLINEMAGAZINE