This week, The Statesman sat down with Sam Brewster, a sophomore forward on Stony Brook’s ice hockey team, for an interview. Brewster, who is from Plano, Texas, was also a model for this issue.

Statesman: Why did you decide to model for the sex issue, and what was the experience like?

Sam Brewster: I may have gotten signed up by a friend for that one (laughs). It was different; you definitely see how confident you are pretty quick with your clothes off. I did it because a friend of mine signed us up, and he almost didn’t do it, but he did end up doing it, and it was just a fun thing to do.

Statesman: How does a kid from Texas end up playing hockey here?

SB: I played every sport growing up, baseball was really my thing. I ended up starting to play hockey when I was 15, I tried out for my JV team because a bunch of my friends played and said it was fun, and I instantly fell in love with the game. The [Dallas] Stars had won the cup not too long ago, so I just fell in love with it and worked as hard as I could, and I ended up making a junior team up in Boston and played there for two years, and I actually followed a girl here. It didn’t work out, but I’m happy to be here.

Statesman: On your team, who is the best at attracting the ladies?

SB: Oh man… we have some young guns who are pretty good, I’ve got to give them credit, each of them has their own game, some kids play the sensitive card, some kids play the thug card, I don’t know if I could pick out one guy. The older guys, they take their time, they pick their spots, everybody’s got a little game to it.

Statesman: How are the girls at Stony Brook, and how do they compare to the girls in Texas and Massachusetts?

SB: They are much better than the girls from Massachusetts, this year, a bunch of girls showed up on campus, we just all noticed there was an influx of attractive girls, but it’s hard to compare with Texas, the stereotype is true. Blond, beautiful, that’s what I’m used to being around.

Statesman: You have a tattoo on your bicep, can you tell us about that?

SB: It’s a red-tail hawk, the tip of the wing goes from my chest, and the other tip of the wing goes to my back. My mom, when I started playing hockey, she started noticing red-tail hawks that weren’t native to my area of Texas, it would be odd, they would just be flying very close to our car, she saw them more often, and then I started seeing them, she always associated them with me and her. I was up in Boston, there was a fight on the streets and she heard that I got hurt, I was sitting in the cop car, and she was emotional, she was tearing up and choking up, she went up to my room just to see my stuff again, and sitting on the branch outside my window was a red-tail hawk. The next morning, she walked out, still kind of shaken, and there was another red-tail hawk just sitting there. I’ve always believed in something greater, I know somebody is watching out for me.

Statesman: Does being on the hockey team help with the dating scene for you?

SB: Yeah, it definitely does. Some girls have an idea of what hockey players are, and we’re known as being smash-mouth kind of guys. We’re chill, but we have an edge to us, but it’s fun, you can definitely use that card.

Statesman: What do you look for in a girl, looks and personality-wise?

SB: My first thing is always eyes. I love contrasting eyes, that’s what grabs me, and I always love long, wavy hair. I will see a beautiful girl, but then, if I see her dressed up in a pony-tail and playing volleyball with her friends or whatever, I’ll be instantly attracted at that point, I’ll be like: ‘yeah, that girl’s got it.’ I don’t have a set type, so it’s whatever comes around.