After scoring three goals in men’s hockey’s weekend sweep against York and Waterloo, right-winger Keaton Turkiewicz snatched this week’s Purple Pipe for his outstanding play. After an impressive playoff performance in his first year at Western last season, Turkiewicz, a former OHL player, has seven goals and four assists this season. Turkiewicz took some time to sit down with the Gazette to discuss offence, the Memorial Cup and keeping things loose with the team.

How long have you been playing hockey and why did you start?
I’ve been playing since I was four or five. My dad got me into it; he played professional hockey, and growing up in Brantford, hockey was always around.

What can we expect to see from the team this year?
We have a lot of returning guys. Losing in the national final game was probably the hardest thing our team had to go through, and we knew we would have a lot of work to do. We know how hard it was in the playoffs. We had a couple of big wins but it could’ve gone either way, so we know it’s not going to be a shoe-in to get to nationals again.

In terms of style of play, what will Western be known for?
It’s got to be offence. We have a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net; even our defence is going to be putting up numbers. We’re going to be a wide-open team, moving the puck and using our speed to play smart hockey.

What was it like playing in the OHL?
It was awesome. I started up in Sudbury then got traded to the west [division] in Windsor then went east to Belleville, so I was all over and met a bunch of awesome guys along the way. In the last year, we made it to the Memorial Cup. We had an awesome team that year.

Which NHL player do you respect the most and why?
My favourite player is probably Wendell Clarke. I’ve always been a Leafs fan, and he was a captain there. He put the puck in the net and he fought and he was just a tough guy. He just had a big heart and I admire that.

Favourite hockey memory?
Definitely scoring the overtime goal in the Memorial Cup in Kitchener two years ago.

The hockey team travels quite a bit. What does the team normally do to stay entertained?
At restaurants we’ll play little games like sneaking around the tables and putting butter or condiments on someone’s shoe to keep the guys on their toes. We usually go after the new guys on the team. We’ll always get a couple of laughs but nothing too harmful happens. When we went to nationals last year, guys [who] left their rooms open might’ve gotten their beds flipped apart.

When you go out, are you normally the wingman or the pilot, and what is your best pickup line/strategy?
Neither right now because I have a girlfriend. Before I guess it depended on whom I was with. I’m not really one for pickup lines but I guess I would just scout out the situation and play it from there. Maybe try to get them out on the dance floor and loosen up the shoulders.

Who’s the clown on the team?
We have a bunch of funny guys in their own ways. Our captain, Luc Martin, is pretty funny. He’s always trying to throw out clever one-liners that sometimes are, sometimes aren’t — but he’s pretty good. Kyle Lamb is always pretty good for a story. He’s always got something up his sleeve. Whether the stories are true or not, I don’t know, but he’s always got something to say.

Laura Barclay/Gazette