Hall of Fame Members

Concord-born and Canaan-raised Ben Lovejoy starred at Dartmouth College and went on to have an 11-year career in the NHL, becoming the first New Hampshire-born player to lift the Stanley Cup.

Lovejoy’s family moved to Marion, Mass., when he was young but returned to the Granite State when he was 8 after his father, Carl, accepted a position at Cardigan Mountain School. Ben played four years at the school, also helping Hanover Youth Hockey teams win state championships at the Mite and Squirt levels.

Lovejoy played for three seasons in the Metropolitan Boston Hockey League for the Middlesex Islanders and played summer hockey for the Boston Elites, Boston Icemen and HoneyBaked (Detroit). He was twice invited to join USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, but declined, opting to stay at Deerfield Academy.

Recruited by Boston College, he spent one year at BC before transferring to Dartmouth College.  Over three seasons he played 86 games for the Big Green, scoring 54 points (11-43-54) as a defenseman. In 2006-07, he was a finalist for the Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England. He also played three seasons of lacrosse.

After parts of two seasons playing in the AHL, Lovejoy made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 7, 2008, in a 4–3 loss against the Buffalo Sabres. After an All-Star season in the AHL, he’d be called up by the Penguins for the Stanley Cup playoffs, though he did not see any game action and the Pens won the cup.

After getting traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2013, Lovejoy returned to Pittsburgh in March of 2015. The following season, he skated in 66 regular-season games (recording four goals and 10 points) and all 24 playoff games as the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup. He became the first New Hampshire native to win the trophy.

On July 1, 2016, Lovejoy left as a free agent to sign a three-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. He would conclude his 11-year NHL career with the Dallas Stars, playing a total of 544 games (the most-ever by a New Hampshire player), 70 playoff games, while amassing 101 points (20-81-101). Known as an elite penalty-killer, he ended his NHL career with a plus minus of plus-50 for his career.

At the time of his retirement, on Aug. 29, 2019, Lovejoy was the only active NHL player to donate his brain for concussion research to Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center.

He was the first Dartmouth alum to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as a player since Myles Lane (Class of ’28) did so in the 1929 Cup final.

The late Beatrice Lambert’s title with the Berlin Maroons was secretary. Her life around hockey merits a label much more layered than that.

A Berlin native and lifelong hockey fan, Lambert watched the growth of the Berlin Maroons from that club’s infancy in 1937-38 to its national amateur championship in 1954, and came aboard as its secretary in the 1950s. She spearheaded fund-raising to keep the club afloat during lean times and became the first woman to serve on the board of directors of the New England Amateur Hockey Association.

Fund-raiser, publicist, statistician…Lambert wore many hats in her service to the Maroons, who played in the NEAHA through 1972.

“She was part of that glue that kept the legendary Berlin Maroons together and built them up to be twice national champions in the 1960s,” said Berlin historian Walter Nadeau, who nominated her for induction, “and continued to promote and build hockey as the first female to serve on the New England Amateur Hockey Association board of directors.” Lambert graduated from Berlin High School in 1929 and was hired by the city of Berlin as the Bookkeeper for the Welfare Department in 1934. By the 1950s she was fully involved as the Secretary for the Maroons, organizing fund-raising and writing up publicity for the local newspapers.

In 1959, as the Maroons officially became incorporated, Lambert was formally elected as the Secretary and Bookkeeper. According to Nadeau, she and Al Adams (Class of 2002) and Clarence Lessard were “the glue” that held the Maroons together for the next decade-plus. Lambert dutifully recorded the minutes at the Maroons’ board meetings, organized fund-raising events, served as team statistician and handled payroll.

For 10 years, beginning in 1968, she served on the board of directors of the New England Amateur Hockey Association. She was a director for three years and then NEAHA Secretary for another seven. She was also named “Miss Hockey of New England” by the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association.

She played a role in the building of a new hockey arena in Berlin after the tragic cave-in of Notre Dame Arena in 1969. Her fund-raising and tireless work helped the new building be ready for hockey less than a year later.

Lambert was a friend to many local sports organizations, including Little League baseball and youth hockey.

The late Tony Urban was a football coach, a basketball coach, a teacher, athletic director, a school administrator, a state administrator, a basketball referee and an umpire. He was a “go-to” figure in the North Country but also led and impacted organizations statewide.

Urban graduated from Plymouth State College and later attended graduate programs throughout the country. He also had a great love for hockey. Basketball was the “family business” but he chose to play hockey for Berlin High School for two years.

Urban knew how important the sport was to his hometown. His career would include 36 years as chairman of the NHIAA Hockey Committee. He served on the National High School Hockey Federation for Hockey Rules Committee from 1977-88. As part of this committee in 1977 he helped author the first consolidated High School Ice Hockey rules book to standardize national rules and benchmarks for high school play.

From 1968-94, he served as assistant principal at Berlin Junior-Senior High School, where he helped design and construct the “new” high school, which still stands today. He served as principal of Berlin Junior-High School and Berlin Middle School, and served on New England-wide school accreditation committees.

In “retirement,” he led efforts to restore the city’s athletic fields from disrepair and acted as clerk of the works. He promoted the BioMass project in Berlin after the mills closed, and served as a Police Commissioner and State Racing and Gaming Commissioner.

Urban served on many NHIAA committees, and spent one school year (1975-76) as president of the NHIAA. He was also a member of the IAABO (basketball officials) since 1963 and served as its president in 1977-1978. He was a member of the NH Baseball Umpires Association since 1961 (serving as its president from 1979-81). He was a member of the NH Women’s Basketball Officials Organization from 1984-2005 (serving as its president from 1984-85). He was inducted into the NHIAA Hall of Fame in 2008.

Urban was a founding member of the predecessor group to the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey. When Berlin’s Notre Dame Arena fell on hard times, again, he helped to set up fundraising opportunities.

He was instrumental in moving the NHIAA hockey championship games from the “big ice” of Whittemore Arena at UNH to the SNHU Arena in Manchester. He also arranged for sponsorships for these costs. Today, the cost is still zero.

He also helped the NHIAA sanctioning of women’s ice hockey as interest expanded in the sport for young women and also oversaw the divisional segregation of the high school hockey programs to allow equitable, safe play for all participants.

He passed away on Dec. 29, 2016 after a battle with a rare cancer.

Attended the Parochial School systems where he started playing ice hockey at the age of 7 as a goaltender. Tinou then played junior hockey for the Richmond Flyers of Windsor, PQ, where he was a major factor in their winning the Eastern Township Cup and were Provincial Finalist in 1963.

In the 1964, Tinou played for the Junior “A” Thetford Mines Blackhawks, a farm team of the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1965, Tinou came to Manchester where he played for the Manchester Blackhawks from 1965 to 1970, and the Manchester Monarchs from 1970 to 1975.

His teams won several New England Hockey League championships and Tinou was named “Goalie of the Year” on three occasions.

Throughout his playing career he has participated in numerous hockey games in support of various local charities.

For ten years from 1965 to 1975, Tinou devoted a great amount of time in support of the Manchester Youth Regional Hockey Association teams as a goalie coach.

Tinou coached the Manchester Generals a Junior “A” team, and in 1993 until 1997 he was the Goalie Coach for the Memorial High School hockey team.

Whenever the conversation ’round the table in Manchester turns to the New England Hockey League of the ’60s and ’70s, the one name that always arises is “Pref” – Andre Prefontaine. To the locals, who back then filled the JFK Coliseum to root for the Manchester Blackhawks, “Pref” was a hero. He was a goal scorer, an aggressive forward with defense on his mind, always a needle in the necks of the opposition.

Originally from St. Hyacinthe in Quebec, his French-speaking family moved to Cornwall, Ontario when “Pref” was 5. For the next six years, he attended a school where only English was spoken. Then in 1950, just as Pref was entering the 7th grade, his father was killed in a railroad accident, forcing his mother to move Pref and his three siblings back to St. Hyacinthe. By then, he had a difficult time speaking French. His then-hockey coach, Father Romeo, made an offer: he would help “Pref” sharpen his French skills if “Pref” would play hockey. They agreed. There was one more catch, though. “Pref” would have to help his classmates improve their English by conversing with them during the day. “Pref” later entered Academy Girouard (high school) where he played on the same line with later-to-be Montreal Canadiens star, Bobby Rosseau. The goaltender that year was Dennis DeJordy, who later became a Chicago Blackhawk.

In the early 1960s, when a new league started locally, “Pref” signed on to play with the St. Hyacinthe Police Department team. In 1965, when he was 27, the team came to New Hampshire to play against the Manchester Blackhawks. In that game, he scored a few goals and afterwards was approached by Blackhawks owner, Claude Vaillancourt, who urged “Pref” to come to the States. His first full season in town was 1966-67.

Some Memorable Moments:

November 20, 1967: At the JFK, “Pref” agreed to switch teams for the evening, joining the shorthanded Merrimack Valley Chiefs. He scored 4 goals and an assist.

April 5, 1969: In game seven of the NEHL championship series, “Pref” scored 5 goals as the Blackhawks defeated arch-rival Concord Eastern Olympics for the title.

September 9, 1969: Al Dupont, then-Blackhawks owner, announced that “Pref” had been traded to the Nashua Maple Leafs.

January 13, 1971: “Pref” is selected for the NEHL All-Star team.

In 1970, the Blackhawks folded but quickly reappeared with a new name: Monarchs. “Pref”, after brief stints with both the Nashua Leafs and Lowell Chiefs, also came back to town and played for the Monarchs until the franchise folded in 1974. He later played a season with the Tri-City Coachmen then three seasons with the Concord Budmen.

In 1978, the old Blackhawks team, out of sight since 1970, was resurrected. And guess who was involved? For seven wonderful seasons, “Pref” was a player and the coach. For three of those years, he was team owner. The Blackhawks finally drew the curtain after the 1985-86 season ended. The memories, though, are still alive.

Al Corriveau was a founder of the Manchester Youth Hockey League and was instrumental in the building of the two local ice arenas. He served as president of the Junior Hockey League and Queen City Hockey, Inc. Al was an owner of the Manchester Blackhawks and the Manchester Monarchs of the New England Hockey League. He was also a sponsor of men’s Senior “A” Hockey League teams.

Al was one of the original “movers and shakers” of ice hockey in Manchester. He founded the Manchester Youth Hockey League, the genesis of what became the one of the largest and most respected youth hockey programs in the country, Manchester Youth Regional Hockey Association (MYRHA).

As a pioneer in developing youth hockey, he gathered coaches, organized teams, got ice time and scheduled practices and games. Al provided order by breaking down the players into age groups and insisting that every player, no matter his/her abilities get equal ice time. His system was first line against first line, second line against second line, etc. As the program got underway smoothly, some people objected to the equal ice time for all players, Al never gave in to the pressure of creating just winners, he ran his program the right way from day one. Al always insisted on equal ice time for all kids, period!

The results of his method can be seen by hockey players from the Manchester Youth System that have excelled in the sport of ice hockey at the high school and collegiate levels through professional play.

Albert “Barney” LaRoche was born in Berlin, New Hampshire, on July 10, 1916. Also known as the “Rocket,” he played 22 years for the various town teams, and in 1937, they became known as the Berlin Maroons. He won six team scoring titles as the Maroons won five (senior) New England AHA titles, in 1941, ’48, ’49, ’51 and again in ’54. They won their first of three (senior) National AHA Championships in 1953-54 over Housatonic, Conn. He finished his playing career in 1956.

Barney coached Notre Dame (Rams) High School for 13 seasons and during that time, their record was 161-79-17. During his tenure, the Rams never lost a single game to another New Hampshire high school. He won an unprecedented 13 NHIAA championships while outscoring their opponents 83-11. The Rams played in two New England championships, finishing as runner-up to Hamden, Conn., in 1954 before returning the favor to Hamden in 1957.

Barney also went on to coach the Maroons four seasons, beginning in 1964-65, ’65-66, ’66-67 and again in 1970-71. During those four years, Berlin’s record was 61-37-7. The Maroons won their second National AHA Championship in 1966-67 over Muskegon, Mich. Of note, the Maroons also won their third and final AHA championship the following season, besting Walpole Mass,, although LaRoche was not coaching.

• Graduate of Notre Dame High School in Berlin in 1954.
• Member of three state champion high school teams.
• Co-captain of the 1954 Notre Dame team that represented the state of New Hampshire at the New England Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island.
• Member of the 1954 All New England Tournament Team.
• Graduate of the University of New Hampshire in 1959.
• Broke a 21-year scoring record at UNH in just 50 games.
• Co-captain and recipient of the Roger LeClerc
• Memorial Award in 1959.
• Played for the Berlin Maroons from 1960 to 1972.
• Coached Notre Dame High School from 1962 to 1964.
• Won a state championship with Notre Dame in1962.
• Coached Berlin High School from 1966 to 1999.
• Won state championships with Berlin High School in 1974 and 1975.
• Finished coaching career with a 323-175-12 record.
• Inducted into the New Hampshire Coaches Hall of Fame in 1989.
• Inducted into the UNH 100 Club Hall of Fame in 1991.

Albert Adams is a hockey legend in his hometown of Berlin, New Hampshire. A co-captain of the Berlin High School team in 1944 before he left to join the US Marine Corps, Adams returned to Berlin to play amateur hockey after playing for three years on the defensive corps at UNH. Adams played three seasons for the Berlin Maroons, including the 1953-54 season when the Maroons won the AHA National Championship. He moved on to coach the team and serve as General Manager from 1955 to 1962, leading the Maroons to two more AHA National Championships. At a cost of much personal financial sacrifice, Al kept amateur hockey in Berlin at the highest possible level in the United States Amateur Hockey Association during his term, In 1963, he was named Mr. Sportsman of the Year by the Athletic Booster Club of Berlin.

His parents named him Cecil Bernard, but everyone else everywhere else called him “Bud.”

First schooled in Portland Maine, “Bud” Luckern later became a student at Portsmouth (NH) High School. He often told the story of PHS’s first and only hockey game back then which was a fight-filled affair and led to the season promptly being cancelled. “Bud” later began working high-rise construction throughout New England. In 1960, he arrived in the Capital City area, first living in Suncook, then later planting his roots in Concord. Once Everett Arena opened in 1965, it became “Bud’s” second home.

In the mid 1960s, “Bud” began coaching in the Concord Youth Hockey house league. In the winter of 1967-68, he and “Tarzan” Healy jointly began working with the first Mite travel team.
Later, “Bud” became Head Coach at Bishop Brady High School, serving two hitches over 13 years. His tenures were: 1974-75 through 1980-81; and 1985-86 through 1990-91. Craig Lawrence served as “Bud’s” Assistant Coach for all 13 years. In addition, during “Bud’s” second tenure, his middle son Tom served as an Assistant Coach.

Although Bishop Brady, year after year, had the lowest student enrollment in Division I, “Bud” was always able to get the most out of the few players who formed his teams. For that ability, he was widely known and acclaimed. Bishop Brady went to two State finals, losing in 1979 to cross-town rival Concord, 6-1; and the following year losing to Manchester Central by that identical score. Bishop Brady also played in two division semi-finals, and two quarterfinals.

“Bud’s” overall Bishop Brady record is 181 wins, 120 losses and 1 tie.

“Bud” Luckern – Class of 2007

Please welcome Cecil Luckern, accepting for his late father.

A stalwart with the Manchester Tam -0-Shanters, the late Donald Williamson Sr. is perhaps better known for his accomplishments following his playing career than for the accolades he earned on the ice. When the Manchester Youth Hockey program was in its early stages in the 1970’s, Williamson was instrumental in gathering support for the effort. Because ice time in the area was so scarce, he and his partner Paul Leonard established the Souhegan Skating Center in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a facility that provided year round availability to the sport. At the same time, Williamson provided guidance by offering instructions at his hockey school and coaching several successful Bantam “A” teams.