KINGS POINT, N.Y. — At this point in his life, Jake Tomasovic plays hockey for fun.

Or so he tells it.

A sophomore forward on the United States Merchant Marine Academy's Division III club team, the Butler graduate is leading the squad in scoring with 12 points — including six goals — through eight games.

He recently drove six and a half hours from Butler to New York to play in a pair of weekend games. Last weekend, he played three games for USMMA in less than 24 hours.

“We have a very dedicated group of hockey players,” USMMA coach Bob Plansker said.

“It did get kind of crazy,” Tomasovic admitted. “But we just love playing.”

An engineering major while minoring in off-shore drilling, Tomasovic spent five months at sea as a Merchant Marine Academy cadet before returning in mid-November. Because of the government shutdown, he and the other cadets were sent home at that point.

But the hockey team was scheduled to open its season.

“We only got in a couple of practices, if that,” Tomasovic said. “To play those games, we all had to drive from home. Guys arrived from all over the place.

“Everyone was there except for a couple of guys.”

Plansker said he has players on the team from Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts ... “a bunch of hockey states.”

USMMA only lost two games last season and Tomasovic was one of the team's top scorers as a freshman.

“My uncle went here,” Tomasovic said. “This school provides quality education with plenty of options once you graduate. It was the way I wanted to go.

“The hockey is something I do on the side now. But the games are still competitive and for us to put in the time we do, we're a close-knit team.”

USMMA played in the inaugural Future Service Leaders of Tomorrow Tournament, defeating Massachusetts Maritime and the Coast Guard Academy while losing to West Point, 3-2.

The tourney was played in Bridgeport, Conn., and was originally set up as a Friday through Sunday event. But the Fairfield University basketball team has a game scheduled Sunday in the arena, so the tourney was condensed to two days.

“We played a game at 10 p.m. Friday night, then faced the Army team at 7 a.m. the next day,” Plansker said. “There wasn't much rest there. Then we played a third game at 3:30 that Saturday afternoon.

“That 3-2 loss to Army was one of our best-played games so far this year.”

Tomasovic had an assist Friday night and scored one of his team's two goals against Army.

“We got back to the motel after 1 a.m. and were back at the rink before 6 a.m.,” Tomasovic recalled. “And we played a great game.

“We're all used to running on no sleep.”

USMMA is 5-3 through eight games this season. It plays in the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference with Columbia, Suffolk, Fordham and Stevens.

“Jake is an incredibly fast skater who attacks the defense with a lot of speed,” Plansker said. “He is a very skilled hockey player.”

Upon graduation, USMMA cadets spend six years in the Naval Reserve, have the option of signing on for active duty or working in the maritime industry or a related civilian job for four years.

Tomasovic said he will likely opt for civilian work in the maritime industry. He also has another five-month stint at sea to fulfill next year.

“I'm building my career here,” he said. “The hockey is just a bonus.”