By Alexis Demopoulos
Boston Dogs forward Joey Pankowski has had a lot of change happen this year, but one thing that stayed consistent was his hope to play college hockey. With hard work, determination and help from his coach, Pankowski earned himself an NCAA Division III commitment to Lebanon Valley College.
After playing for the Dogs for 44 games during the 2023-24 season in the Eastern Hockey League and 15 games this season, the Dogs made the transition to the NCDC where Pankowski has two goals and an assist in the team’s first 11 NCDC games.
“Playing for the Boston Dogs has been a privilege and honor,” said the Gibsonia, Pa., native. “I am a returner this year so I had a good idea of what I was getting when I re-signed, however things got a bit hectic with the jump from the EHL to now being in the NCDC. Despite that, our culture and our core is the same and our love for the game has not faded whatsoever. We are extremely grateful to the NCDC and all the teams for welcoming us into the league despite the situation.”
Pankowski was thankful to the NCDC for the little time he had before getting committed. That and the help of head coach Cody Gonyeau helped him earn the commitment he always wanted.
“There is no argument that the NCDC is an amazing league to build your skill and play in front of as many eyes as possible,” said Pankowski. “Playing against higher talent and in a more competitive ‘college-like’ atmosphere makes it an easy choice for scouts to come and see who could make a great impact on their team.”
Pankowski first began speaking to head coach Don Parsons of Lebanon Valley in early November. Coach Gonyeau played an intricate part in talking with Parsons and helping move the communications and process along.
“Coach Don Parsons was initially interested in me after speaking with my current Coach Cody [Gonyeau] about how I behaved off the ice and what kind of person I was,” said Pankowski. “From there, they began to watch me during our games and liked the style of play I had and what I could potentially bring to the team.”
Pankowski fell in love with the culture of the school, the academic side of things as well as hockey. Pankowski is leaning towards either pre-med leading to a dermatology specialization, or going into business and trying to build a company. Lebanon Valley provides him with both of those opportunities.
“Lebanon Valley has a lot of things to love,” said Pankowski. “The first thing coach Parsons told me is about how highly they value team culture and pushing their players to be great in more than playing the game they love. For academics, they have both extremely competitive pre-med and business classes. While I still haven’t decided on my major as of now, they are both of what I have the most interest in. On average there is a teacher for every nine or so students per class, so there is no shortage of staff and help is always available.”
Another strong driving force for Pankowski in choosing to play at Lebanon Valley is that the campus is just a three-hour drive from where he grew up, giving him the chance to visit home and easier for his parents to come watch him play.
In terms of what Pankowski is working on to get college ready is improving his speed and decision making with the puck.
“For me personally, my size gives me a huge step up when it comes to winning battles or protecting the puck,” said Pankowski. “I’m very confident in my playmaking ability, using my IQ and vision on the ice to create opportunities. College is a much faster paced game than juniors and I definitely have some more work to do before I am truly ready.”
As far as having his commitment already secured, Pankowski is hopeful to just keep helping his team improve every day.
“Team success has always been my first priority, committed or not my first priority has and still will be my brothers on the Dogs and pushing this team to be better when I leave than when I arrived,” said Pankowski.
The NCDC congratulates Joey Pankowski, his family, the Boston Dogs and Lebanon Valley
College for his commitment.
