All the way from Finland, senior Samuli Sihvonen has had a less than linear path to the Cougs. It is not just the foreign factor that makes it unique, but the gap on his hockey resume during his junior college days.
“There was a lot going on between high school and college,” Sihvonen said. “I decided to start slow with community college and eventually things came together and I ended up at WSU. I saw the hockey program so I thought ‘why not?’. I’ll get back into hockey after being off for five years.”
After a few years at Cascadia and Spokane Falls Community College, Sihvonen rolled onto the Palouse in 2024. In his two years as a Coug, he racked up 35 points in 51 total games with 17 goals on the ledger.
Samuli Sihvonen back checks in a game against the Western Washington hockey team on Jan. 18 2026.
He solidified himself on the top line early, in large part because of head coach John Lupinacci’s program philosophy.
“Hard work,” Sihvonen said. “It’s what we repeat in every practice and every game. That’s kind of what Coug hockey is about. We may not always be the most skilled team out there, but we’ll work hard and leave all of it on the ice.”
Leaving it all on the ice is exactly what he did. With his short Cougar career officially in the rearview mirror, Sihvonen cannot believe it’s over.
“I don’t think it has fully kicked in yet,” he said. “I haven’t been here too long. It’s only been two full years. So, it’s been pretty quick, it doesn’t feel like it’s over.”
Even still, Sihvonen has memories that will last a lifetime. His favorite came this year, when the Cougs took on the University of Washington in front of 4,700 fans in Tri-Cities.
“It has to be Tri-Cities from this year,” he said. “Didn’t get anything like that the first year and overall I don’t think a lot of guys have played against another team in front of a crowd like that.”
Samuli Sihvonen (58) and Cole Carlson (24) for WSU club hockey talk with Darren Morris (9) for UW after a fight on the ice on Oct. 25 2025.
That game was the biggest for a number of the Cougs’ freshmen who make up the young core that WSU has. Sihvonen sees that youth as the Cougs’ biggest weapon.
“It’s looking good,” he said. “Obviously we’re losing a few guys as seniors. But, there are a lot of freshmen that came in that are all really good. I’m hearing exciting things about the incoming freshman for next year. So, I think it’s going to be really good. I’m excited to see what they do.”
With a digital marketing degree, Sihvonen is planning to move to Nevada in search of a job. However, he will always have space in his heart for hockey.
“Maybe I’ll find a beer league team somewhere,” he said. “I mean, all roads lead to beer league. We’ll figure that out.”
