Third member of Kariya family may compete for UMaine

ORONO – One brother became a household name in Maine. Another is well on his way to becoming one.

Seventeen-year-old Noriko Kariya, younger sister of former University of Maine star Paul Kariya and current Black Bear right winger Steve, was on a field hockey recruiting visit while getting a rare opportunity to see Steve play here Friday night.

She knew her brothers enjoyed Maine so she inquired about attending Maine.

She is also looking at a few other schools.

Noriko Kariya, the fourth of T.K. and Sharon Kariya’s five children, has been playing field hockey for five years and plays year-round. She also plays ice hockey and has learned a lot from her older brothers and older sister Michiko.

“I’m the second youngest so I take with me a lot of what Paul, Steve and Michiko have done,” said Noriko. “I learned from them and I’ve grown with them as they have achieved different things.”

She said her brothers have “very different personalities” but similar hockey styles as does 15-year-old brother Martin.

“They’re all excellent hockey players who have the same ability to see the ice very well. They are playmakers, definitely,” said Noriko, who followed the blueprint. “I’m more of a playmaker, too. I play like they do only in field hockey.”

A wing-center midfielder, Noriko said she has been blessed with another Kariya trait: speed.

Noriko likes field hockey and ice hockey equally but said there are many more scholarship opportunities in field hockey and field hockey is big in her native British Columbia and Ontario “where a lot of the national team members come from.”

She said she was enjoying her visit and looking forward to seeing her brother after Friday’s game.

“Everybody has been away doing their own things so when we get a chance to see each other, it’s a big event,” she said.

Matthias Trattnig, considered by St. Louis Blues scout Matt Keator to be a “highly skilled player who is one of the most sought after in the East this year,” has verbally committed to attend the University of Maine.

Jim Salfi, father of former Bear forward Kent Salfi and Trattnig’s coach, verified that Trattnig had accepted a scholarship to Maine. He was also recruited by Bowling Green, RPI, UMass-Lowell, and Boston University, said Salfi.

Due to NCAA regulations, the Maine coaching staff isn’t allowed to comment on Trattnig.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Trattnig, a native of Graz, Austria, plays for Salfi’s Capital District (N.Y.) Select team and has 28 goals and 42 assists in 41 games.

“He has excellent speed, and he’s very deceptive. He has a couple of gears,” said Jim Salfi, who is using him at center, but said he can also play wing. “He plays a very physical game and has good puck control. He can pass the puck very well on the backhand as well as on the forehand.”

“His stock has risen in the last month or so,” said Keator. “He has speed, skill, and some size and he can play at a high tempo. He has draft potential. He’s going to be a good college player.”

Trattnig, who will turn 18 in April, won’t be eligible for the NHL draft until 1998.