Mar 17, 2016 5 min read

Alec Bosnic grew up hearing stories of touchdown passes and Friday night football.

But when the Bishop Canevin senior’s playing career is over, he’ll have stories of his own. His tales, however, will involve scoring goals and hoisting championship trophies.

Bosnic’s father, Gary, was the starting quarterback for Albert Gallatin’s 1974 WPIAL Class AA championship team and a placekicker for Harvard.

One of Alec’s cousins, Nick, played basketball at Duquesne and was the head coach basketball coach at Connellsville. Another cousin, Mike, played football at Albert Gallatin and Pitt and is the head football coach at Washington High School.

Alec, who lives in South Strabane Township and attended Trinity East Middle School, has taken a different route to athletic success. He’s the captain and first-line center for Bishop Canevin (18-6-1), which won its second PIHL Class AA Penguins Cup in the last three years and will play Central Bucks South (21-0-0) for the state championship Saturday at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena.

“It’s kind of different that nobody in my family has played hockey, but they have similar stories from their experiences,” Alec Bosnic said. “Whether it is Mike’s stories from coaching Wash High, my dad’s stories from winning the championship when he was in high school or him playing at Harvard – obviously they aren’t the same as stories form hockey, but they have similar values that you can carry over to any sport.”

The four-year starter is second on the Crusaders with 40 points (19 goals and 21 assists), including a goal and an assist in Bishop Canevin’s 4-2 win over Baldwin in the PIHL quarterfinals.

His career began at five years old at a free skate with his parents at Southpointe, slowly moving near the boards. As they stepped off the ice, a group of young players in hockey equipment started a learn-to-play class. Bosnic turned to his parents and said, “That’s what I want to do.”

First, he learned to skate. As an 8-year-old, Bosnic joined his first organized team. Over the past decade, the family has taken trips across the country for tournaments with travel teams. As a student at Trinity East, he was one of very few hockey players and, of course, the only one in his family.

Bishop Canevin is much different. The program owns eight Penguins Cup trophies, including two won by Bosnic, and hockey is very much a part of the culture at the private school in Carnegie.

“I’m very proud of him,” Gary Bosnic said. “Two years ago, they went to the states and they lost to the same team they’re going to play. To do it their senior year and go as far as you can go, and he’s the captain of the team, I’m just so proud of him. I feel like he plays the game the right way.”

Gary, like his son, was a captain in football and baseball for Albert Gallatin, and started two seasons at Harvard, where he kicked 10 field goals and 35 extra points in two seasons.

Though he does see similarities in his son’s demeanor on and off the ice, Gary, whose father, Mike Sr., was a longtime high school football coach, doesn’t to take credit for what Alec has become. He’s a 4.0 student involved in several clubs, including chess club, and does community service through the school.

He’s also the glue to one of the top hockey teams in the state. Alec, a left-handed center, is excellent possessing the puck, facilitating an offense that scored 127 goals this season. Though his offense helped BC reach the Pennsylvania Cup, it’s his impact off the ice that has helped the most.

“Leading has mostly come with time,” Bosnic said. “One of the things my dad did was he tried to let me find my own way to lead, which as time went on, I learned you definitely have to lead by example. Actions speak much louder than words. Anything you ask your teammates, you have to be willing to do yourself.”

Though Gary’s first loves are football and baseball, he knew a thing or two about hockey. He attended many of Harvard’s games during his four years in Cambridge, so like all hockey dads, he’s able to give pointers on the long car rides home.

“I’ve won a WPIAL title, and my son now has two Penguins Cups. He’s one ahead of me,” Gary said with a laugh.

When Bishop Canevin fell to Central Bucks South, 5-2, in the state championship game two years ago, Alec assisted on a second-period power play goal, but as he prepares to help the Crusaders try to win their first state title since 2011, he knows that his dad will be there after to talk hockey.

“Even though he didn’t play himself, he has a lot of knowledge about the game, a lot more than I did and he probably still has more than I have now,” Alec said. “He helps me improve each and every day.”