Hall of Fame Members

Attended Concord High School from 1992 to 1996. In her senior year, Tara was the team captain and was names Player of the Year in NHIAA men’s hockey.

Completed three seasons at Brown University. She took a year off after her freshman year to compete in the 1998 Winter Olympics. After her junior year she left Brown for two years to train with and play for the Salt Lake City Olympic Hockey team.

Tara won a Gold Medal at the 1998 Olympics held at Nagano, Japan and won a Silver Medal at the 2002 Olympics held at Salt Lake City.

Tara was selected to the All-World Teams at both the 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Tara was a member of the Women’s National Team from high school through the Salt Lake City Olympics. During this period she won three silver medals at the World Championships.

Tara is currently enrolled at Boston College Graduate School pursuing her Masters in Nursing degree to become a nurse practitioner

Steve Shirreffs played five seasons of pro hockey, including two in the AHL, but he got his start in the Upper Valley, playing on some terrific Hanover High School teams in the early 1990s.

An offensive defenseman, with excellent size and leadership skills, Shirreffs led the Marauders to state championships in his junior and senior seasons, 1992-93 and 1993-94. As a junior he posted 4-19-23 point totals and was a plus-59.

One of his biggest plays came in the waning seconds of the championship game against Concord. He stopped a clearing pass at the blue line and set up a play that tied the game; the Marauders won in double-overtime.

That championship helped insert Hanover into the conversation about the state’s top programs. Over a 14-year span, the Marauders would take home the state title five times.

“He played his best games in the biggest games against the toughest competition,” said longtime Hanover coach Dick Dodds. “He was a positive influence everywhere he went and never had a bad word to say about anyone.”

As a senior, Shirreffs upped his totals to 11-30-41 and plus-81, earning All-State honors. He prepped for a year at Hotchkiss, winning a New England title, getting drafted by the Calgary Flames and paving his way to Princeton, where he developed into one of the top defensemen in the NCAA.

He was named an All-American and first-team All-ECAC as a junior, when he was the second-highest scoring defenseman in the nation and the Tigers won the league crown and made their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. He currently ranks fifth all-time at Princeton in defenseman scoring (16-48-64).

“I never had an easier guy to coach,” said former Princeton coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. “He was the consummate team player. No one worked harder or listened better…His graduating class was probably the best in Princeton hockey history.”

With his NHL rights traded to the Washington Capitals, Shirreffs started his pro career in the fall of 1999 with their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, playing in 44 games. From there he moved on to Europe, playing three seasons in the Finnish Elite League around one more stint in the AHL/ECHL.

A student of the game, a positive influence on teams he touched, and a great ambassador for hockey from New Hampshire.

Steve grew up in Malden, Mass., and played at Malden High School, where he captained the team his senior year before moving on to New Prep in Cambridge, Mass., and St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. He was the first American to ever letter in hockey at Xavier.

His New Hampshire playing days began playing for the Concord Shamrocks in 1965-66 and played the next year with the Concord Coachmen, beginning a career that would land him the Legends of Hockey Hall of fame as a player.

From 1967-68 through 1971-72, the speedy Murphy was a fixture with the Concord Eastern Olympics of the New England Hockey League. Over five seasons and 200 games, he scored 112 goals and 155 assists for 267 total points, and also showing a knack for staying out of the penalty box.

He ranks fifth all-time in scoring for the Olympics. Murphy also holds records for most assists in a game (six) and most goals in a game (four, tied with several others). He was selected and played in NEHL All-Star game versus the College All-Stars in Boston.

“Steve was always one of the more prolific scorers (and point getters) each year for the Concord Eastern Olympics,” said Ryan Brandt, a teammate of his on those teams. “He had the hockey sense to find or create space relative to his teammates and opponents to have the opportunity to put the puck in the net, which he usually did.”

Murphy returned to Nova Scotia and played the season 1972-73 for the Antigonish Bulldogs. He returned to New Hampshire after that and suited up for the Manchester Monarchs in the Can-Am League and later the Concord Budmen.

Murphy played into his 50s in the Capital City Hockey League, a checking league and is a member of the CCHL Hall of Fame.

As a coach, he guided the varsity at Bishop Brady from 1991-94 and the varsity at Marian (Mass.) High School, where he was a teacher. He also oversaw three separate travel teams in the Concord Youth Hockey Association, winning N.H. State Championships at the Squirt 2 level (1993), the Squirt 1 level (1994) and the Pee-Wee 1 level (1996).

If famed Dartmouth hockey coach Eddie Jeremiah hadn’t dropped an encouraging word in Steve Arndt’s teenage ear during the summer of 1965, Steve might not be seated here today.

He might, instead, still be in living in rural New Brighton, Minnesota, about 30 miles northwest of St. Paul.

Back at the time of their meeting, Steve was between his freshman and sophomore years at Moundsview High School and Jeremiah had brought his noted hockey school out west. Steve, a forward with great skill, had enrolled and made an impression on the legendary coach.

Steve recalls him saying, “Please keep Dartmouth in mind.”

Over the next two years, Steve had thoughts about the University of Minnesota but in the end he remembered Jeremiah’s warm urgings and sent his application off to Hanover where it was received with approval.

When he landed in town, he had never been so far east. But sadly, by that time, Jeremiah had passed on. Steve’s freshman year and his three varsity seasons-first under head coach Ab Oakes and then Grant Standbrook-were all played with his patented skill and efficiency. Well known for his humility, he refers to himself only as “a contributor” during those four years.

One of his golden memories is the victory over Cornell his senior year during the annual Dartmouth Winter Carnival. He doesn’t recall the score but he does, for certain, know the name of one of the opposing Cornell players, longtime friend and future teammate, Concord’s Gary Young.

Steve, the oldest of the six Arndt children, became a Big Green alum in the spring of 1972 and since then has been a permanent New Hampshire resident.

He also at that time immediately immersed himself in Concord’s hockey scene, joining the Concord Eastern Olympics, then playing one season with the Tri-City Coachmen before skating 19 seasons with the Concord Budmen. His total service as a regular skater with a Concord team was 22 years.

Hockey runs in the Arndt family’s blood. Currently, at age 58, Steve still plays in the Capital City Hockey (checking) League (inducted Hall of Fame ’95) with son, Dan, who played for the Naval Academy ’98. Daughter Jaime played for Dartmouth ’00. Steve’s wife, Kim, UNH ’73, was one of the first coaches of Concord High School’s girls hockey program.

Steve is a longtime ECAC and NIHOA referee, and also served the community as president of the Concord Youth Hockey Association. Twice, while coaching youth hockey teams, he went to national tournaments.

Steve Arndt – Class of 2008.

Please welcome Steve Arndt.

The town of Melrose has long been an incubator for Massachusetts hockey talent, a quiet hamlet where a deep love for the game has always burned brightly.

So, it’s easy to understand why Seaver Peters, being a product of that place, has been able to make major and lasting impacts on hockey in and around Hanover, New Hampshire.

He landed in the heart of the Upper Valley 60 years ago, fresh out of Melrose HS (Class of 1950), to enroll at Dartmouth College.

Among the things he brought with him that day were the hockey skills he had been honing since the 7th grade, playing for the Green Street Reds youth team. Later, at Melrose HS, as a sophomore he was a first-line left wing for coach Charlie Holt, who later became UNH’s legendary coach. Holt was succeeded by Henry Hughes, a Massachusetts coaching legend. By the 1949-50 season, Melrose was at its mightiest, in the end winning every title in sight: Champions of the GBI League; of Massachusetts; of New England!

At Dartmouth, Seaver played for an undefeated freshman team, followed by three varsity seasons under famed coach, Eddie Jeremiah. As a junior and a senior, Seaver was a first-line center. He also was team captain as a senior. His greatest hockey accomplishments were still ahead, to be off ice.

He graduated from Dartmouth in 1954 and then, via the ROTC program, served two years at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod.

By 1959, he was back in Hanover for good, becoming an integral part of Dartmouth’s administrative team. Initially, he worked as assistant comptroller and assistant athletic director.

He worked, too, in the local community, organizing what in 1962 became the Hanover Youth Hockey Association, collaborating as co-founder with Dartmouth hockey alum, Ab Oakes. Seaver then served the Association as president for 17 consecutive years.

In 1964, he briefly took over as freshman hockey coach in the absence of Eddie Jeremiah, who was on leave to coach the US Olympic hockey team at the Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Then came 1967 and Seaver ascended as Dartmouth’s athletic director. Over the next 16 years, he was a major administrative force, on campus and in Hanover, making many hockey things possible.

Perhaps the largest nugget of his tenure was the building of the Rupert Thompson Arena, which replaced Davis Rink, opened in 1930, as the venue for Dartmouth hockey. Seaver, among others, helped guide the project from its inception and he smiled broadly when construction began in 1973. The first hockey game was in November of 1975: Dartmouth and the US Olympic team skated to a 3-3 draw.

In October of 1976, The Friends of Dartmouth College Hockey was created. Needless to say, the Peters’ administrative thumb was in the pie. The group today remains a vibrant supportive varsity adjunct. Also during the 1970s, he served a few years as chairman of the ECAC Playoff Selection Committee.

Next came the creation and development of the Dartmouth Women’s Hockey Program. The roots reach back to 1977, three years after Dartmouth ceased being an all-male institution. In the ensuing 33 years, the program has enjoyed great success, producing 8 Olympians, 38 1st-team All Ivy League skaters, 27 winning seasons, 8 NCAA appearances, and 4 ECAC titles.

In February of 1983, Seaver stepped down as Dartmouth athletic director and moved into the investment world full time. His sense of community hockey development never dimmed, though, and in 1988 he saw the James W. Campion Rink open. As you might suspect, he was involved with the planning and development. Located in contiguous West Lebanon, the rink gave the community a facility to replace Dartmouth’s old on-campus Davis Rink, which has been razed. Campion Rink serves and supports both local youth hockey and high school programs, as well as community recreational programs.

Today, Seaver and his wife, Sally, live in White River Junction, VT. They have six children and eight grandchildren.

Sanford “Sandy” Sistare

Derided and mocked, girls’ hockey wasn’t taken seriously in the city of Concord. Of course, that all changed when Sandy Sistare took over the girls program at St. Paul’s School.

The school’s first girls’ hockey coach, Sandy poured everything he had into the program, grooming, shaping and nurturing it into the successful program that still stands tall today.

It all began in 1979, when two students approached then-Athletic Director Bud Blake with a proposal to develop a girls-only hockey team. Bud was excited about the idea and immediately thought of Sandy, who he believed would be “a super coach for the girls – right temperament, great personality (and a) go getter.”

The first official season began in 1980. A group of former figure skaters, sisters of hockey-playing brothers and recreational players joined forces to play a four-game schedule. The Big Red went 0-4, but the fact that the girls received time at the rink (like the boys) and not on the pond was a step in the right direction.

Cynthia Ferris, one of the first females to lace up her skates for St. Paul’s, remembers that “it was exciting to be part of the first wave” of girls hockey and was comforted by Sandy’s way of applying gentle, consistent pressure to see that the team got the necessary equipment and ice time, games scheduled and goalie coaching.

Suzanne Walker, who played for Sandy in 1985 and ’86, evoked memories of Sandy pulling her out of club hockey on the pond and into the rink, where she eventually played goalie and moved on to play for Bowdoin College.

During his time as bench boss, Sandy put together a pair of trips to Scandinavia, where his teams experienced European hockey along with the educational benefit of seeing and interacting with other cultures. He was also instrumental in beginning the St. Paul’s/Taft Tournament, a tourney for high school girls that takes place every year in December, and that is still being played almost 30 years later as the Patsy K. Odden Hockey Tournament.

In his decade-long run as the girls’ coach at St. Paul’s, Sandy coached roughly 80 girls, many of which went on to play Division I and Division III puck at college’s like Bowdoin, Brown, Harvard, Middlebury, Princeton and Yale.

In 1986, four years before Sandy would retire, St. Paul’s endowed a prize in his name called the Sanford R. Sistare Memorial Award, which is given every year to the player who distinguishes herself in individual and team play.

In his eight seasons as girls’ hockey coach (1980-1987), Sandy finished with a record of 59-29-3. The team won the ISL title in his final season and the leagues first girls’ hockey championship in 1987. A proud alumnus of Bowdoin College, Class of 1950, Sandy returned to Brunswick, Maine after retiring from St. Paul’s in 1990. He volunteered as an assistant coach with the Bowdoin women’s team, and played host to several visiting players on an annual basis. There is a plaque at the Bowdoin arena that reads: “In honor and memory of Sanford “Sandy” R. Sistare of the Class of 1950. His devotion to hockey, at St. Paul’s School and Bowdoin, was unparalleled.”

Sandy spent most of his professional life of 37 years as an educator. Twenty two of those years were spent at St. Paul’s School in Concord, where he taught, worked as an administrator and coached. Sandy died at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Maine, three days before Christmas in 2008. His obituary noted that, “among the many accomplishments in his long career as an educator, he was most proud of starting the SPS girls’ hockey team and serving as head coach for many years.”

Even before there was a rink in his hometown of Henniker, forward Ryan Weston was showing the kind of skill as a Mite that would make him one of the top players to come out of New Hampshire.

While attending John Stark Regional High School in Weare as a freshman, Weston skated for the New Hampshire Jr. Wildcats. He transferred to Tilton School for his final three years, where he was a standout four-sport athlete (soccer, hockey, lacrosse and golf) and his hockey teams won New England championships each year he played, including his senior year, when he was captain. He would later be inducted into the Tilton School Hall of Fame.

“He was unbelievably motivated,” said Mike Walsh, his coach at Tilton.

After two years playing for Gary Dineen and Lincoln Flagg for the New England Jr. Coyotes in the EJHL, where he amassed 39 points in 37 games, Weston took his talents to Boston University, where he played in at least 30 games in all four seasons.

The Terriers won three Beanpot tournaments of his first three years, BU advanced to the NCAA tournament.

As a senior, Weston served as Alternate Captain and was one of just four players to play in all 39 games. He finished his career with nine goals and 17 assists.

After BU, Weston went on to play parts of four seasons in the American Hockey League for the Albany River Rats and San Antonio Rampage.

His best season came in 2008-09 with Albany, when he scored nine goals and added seven assists in 63 games. He also played parts of two seasons with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.

Weston just recently moved from San Diego where he was Head Coach of San Diego State University Club Hockey Team. He is now a volunteer assistant with Santa Margarita and Carlsbad Unified high school hockey

A Concord, N.H., native who grew up playing on state champion Concord High School teams alongside, among others, Olympic Gold Medalist Tara Mounsey, the late Ryan Frew coached junior hockey in the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs organization from 2004 until his death in 2020, making him among the longest-tenured junior coaches from New Hampshire ever.

As a player, Frew helped Concord to a 62-1 record and three consecutive Division 1 state titles in his high school career. He was an All-State selection, played on the N.H. Make A Wish team, and was named the 1998 CHS Male Athlete of the year. He went on to play four years of college hockey at New Hampshire College/Southern New Hampshire University.

Starting in 2004, Frew coached junior hockey in the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs organization. His teams qualified for the Empire Junior Hockey League, Eastern Hockey League or and United States Premier Hockey League playoffs in fifteen consecutive seasons, amassing a 483-133-16-19 regular-season record and going 54-19-2 in the playoffs.

Under Frew, the Jr. Monarchs won a USA Hockey Junior National Championship in 2012, and he was recognized that same season as Coach of the Year by Hockey Night in Boston. The Jr. Monarchs were USA Hockey national semifinalists in 2008 and ‘09, and national runners-up in 2007 and ‘11.

They won the Empire League playoff championships in 2010 and ‘12 and, most recently, they won the Eastern Hockey League championship in 2016.

During his career as a head coach/GM, Frew was selected to coach All-Star teams five times, was named Executive of the Year by the Eastern Hockey League, and had a hand in placing over 120 players into college programs at the Division 1 and Division 3 levels, many of them performing with distinction.

Off the ice, Frew’s teams engaged annually in a variety of community service projects, including “Cold Ice, Warm Feet” – collecting over 2,500 pairs of socks for the needy and homeless; “Pink In the Rink” – fund-raisers to support cancer research and survivors; Operation “Make Life Better” – helping senior citizens and others who need an extra hand; yard work for military families on duty; honoring veterans and first responders in special ceremonies; regularly reading at elementary schools in the area; and many more.

Of those, the most meaningful to him was the “Make-A-Wish” captains, recognizing children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit that helps fulfill the wishes of kids with a critical illness. Each year, for several years, Frew’s teams had honorary Make-A-Wish kids serve as captains who were recognized at home games and were responsible for delivering inspirational comments at various times to his teams.

Frew passed away at the age of 40. That year, the USPHL renamed its NCDC Coach of The Year Award as the Ryan Frew Memorial Coach of The Year Award.

To say he loves the game of hockey is the very definition of an understatement. It’s not love, but an infatuation with a game that has defined his life.

Ryan Brandt grew up playing in Roseau, Minnesota, a farming community that sits just 10 minutes from the Canadian border. It was there that he played his grade school hockey (similar to youth hockey in New Hampshire). Interestingly enough, as strong a defenseman as Ryan was, he only played two years for the Roseau High School team from 1967-69. Ryan noted his limited playing time was due to the significant amount of strong players that were on the team during his time.

Roseau has grown several NHL players, including Neal Broten, Aaron Broten, Luke Erickson and Dustin Byfuglien. It also produced Rube Bjorkman, who was coaching the University of New Hampshire at the time and played a significant part in bringing Ryan to the Granite State.

“He always kept an eye on the Minnesota boys,” Ryan said.

College rules back then state that you couldn’t play varsity hockey as a freshman, so Ryan honed his skills on the freshman team, waiting for his shot to play for the Wildcats. He would play only one year for Bjorkman, who was replaced by the legendary Charlie Holt in 1968. Ryan acknowledged that while he and his teammates probably didn’t appreciate Holt’s knowledge at the time, he knows today that he made him a more complete and versatile hockey player.

Because of a robust defensive corps, Ryan played forward in his first two years with the Wildcats before switching back to defense for his senior season. It was during his senior season that he was named captain and earned all-tournament team recognition. In three seasons at UNH, Ryan finished with 33 goals and 55 assists.

Ryan continued his career playing for the Concord Eastern Olympics for four seasons in the New England Hockey League before it folded in the mid-70s.

“Ryan was an outstanding teammate, highly competitive and a silky-smooth talent,” said Steve Arndt, who played with Ryan on the Eastern Olympics from 1972-74. “You were never disappointed when you found out you were playing with Ryan. He was deceptively fast, had very soft hands and was one of those guys who never shied away from contact. He has certainly left his mark on this great game.”

During this time he also dabbed in officiating from 1976-80, reffing high school, prep school and Division III college games, while playing for the Tri-City Coachmen in the Can-Am League. But in 1980 he packed up and moved to Culver, Indiana, for a coaching and teaching position at Culver Military Academy. While he enjoyed his experience at Culver, Ryan missed home that being Concord, New Hampshire and moved back with his family in 1986.

Ryan returned to the ice, playing for the Budmen and skating in the Capital City League until 1999. During this time he also coached teams in Concord Youth Hockey from 1986-94 and sat on the organization’s board from 1988-91.

Ryan continues to play hockey today, skating in the weekly senior league in Concord and has played on a 60-and-over team that has won three straight USA National Championships. The team is made up of former Division I and Olympic players from Ryan’s hometown of Roseau and the tournament is played annually during the month of April in Tampa, Florida.

Ryan also plays in other 60-and-over tournaments, and has plans to play in various pond hockey tournaments across New England, including the Black Ice Tournament in Concord.

Russell F. ‘Russ’ Martin

Impressive. That, in a word, best describes Russ Martin. He was a leader of men, a civic-minded citizen and an outstanding hockey player and coach.

It all started at the University of New Hampshire where Russ excelled on the ice, playing three years of varsity hockey. As a captain his senior year (1937-38), he scored 39 points for a 4.2 points-per-game average. Although records weren’t then kept, it undoubtedly is UNH’s highest single-season total ever.

He holds the University record for goals-per-game average with 1.45 and has a share of the record for the most points in a game with 10. Russ also posted 45 goals and 30 assists in 31 games, which is a 2.4 points-per-game average. That is the best mark in school history.

After graduation, he played three seasons for the Boston Olympics, based at Boston Garden.

Martin, in 1959, settled in Concord and that winter with high energy and enthusiasm led a revival of ice hockey in the Capital City, forming the Concord Youth Hockey program. He heavily emphasized hockey fundamentals and sportsmanship.

In 1963, Russ joined hands with Dudley W. Orr and Malcolm McLane and with their leadership, vision and dedication it led to the design and ultimate construction of the Douglas N. Everett Arena in Concord. The facility was dedicated December 7, 1965.

As the Arena’s operations evolved, Russ led its volunteer Board of Directors, serving as President of Concord Ice Skating Arena, Inc. His tenure continued through the year the City of Concord purchased the Arena.

Russ also was involved with the operations of three Capital City senior teams: the Concord Shamrocks, the Concord Coachmen, and the Eastern Olympics.

High School hockey in Concord existed between the 1933-34 and 1951-52 seasons but thereafter was shelved. Prior to the 1961-62 season, Russ, as a member of the school board, persuaded City officials to restore hockey as a varsity sport. Since then, Concord has had seven championship teams.

Russ never lost his love of the sport and for 20 years was a top-notch official, blowing the whistle at many college, prep and high school games. He also served a term as President of the New Hampshire Official’s Association.

In 1986, Russ was inducted into the UNH Hall of Fame for football. He also was a recipient of the Carl Lundholm Memorial award for distinguished service to NH youth in athletics. During World War II, he saw combat with the 10th Mountain Division in the Italian Alps.

Russell F. “Russ” Martin – Class of 2007

Please welcome Rusty Martin, accepting for his late father.

The all-time leading scorer in Phillips Exeter Academy history, Russ Bartlett used his success at the school as a springboard to Division I college success at Boston University and St. Lawrence, and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A native of Windham, Bartlett played 116 games over four years at Exeter, finishing with 102 goals and 173 assists for 275 points. The program’s second all-time leading scorer – Geoff Koch, a three-year linemate of Bartlett’s who went on to play at Michigan – finished with 177 points.

After managing 44 points as a freshman, Bartlett led the Big Red in scoring as a sophomore (70 points), junior (71 points) and senior (90 points). His teams combined for a record of 80-23-3 in those years and went to the New England tournament three times.

Said Dana Barbin, Bartlett’s coach at Exeter and (Legends Hall of Famer ’10) “Not known for his blinding speed, he still managed to set every offensive record at P.E.A. with his Gretzky-like game. I said it then and I’ll say it now, I’ll never again coach such a prolific point producer!” His signature game came during his junior year, when he scored five goals against the No. 1 team in the region, Cushing Academy, and future NHL great Tom Poti.

“The recruiters said, ‘Whoa,’ and that’s when things really started breaking,” said Barbin.

Bartlett played two seasons at BU, scoring 20 goals and 51 points, beating Boston College with an overtime goal in the Beanpot as a sophomore.

He transferred to St. Lawrence for his final two years, managing 22 goals and 65 points. Serving as an Alternate Captain as a senior, he helped the Saints win the ECAC Hockey title and play in the NCAA tournament.

Bartlett finished his college career with 42 goals and 116 points in 144 games.

An eighth-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs (194th overall) in the 1997 NHL draft, Bartlett played one season of professional hockey with the ECHL’s Richmond Renegades in 2002-03, managing seven goals and 24 points in 62 games.

Ronald played organized hockey in Windsor and Richmond, Quebec, he played Junior A hockey for the Richmond Flyers who were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the American League. In 1963 they won the Eastern Township Cup and were invited to play in the finals in the Provincial championship series.

In 1964, Ronald was invited to a tryout by the Boston Bruins organization.

In 1965, Ron came to Manchester where he played for the Manchester Blackhawks from 1965 to 1970, the Manchester Monarchs from 1970 to 1975, the Concord Budmen from 1975 to 1978.

His team won two New England Hockey League championships and Ron was selected to the All Star team that played at Lake Placid, New York.

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

For many years Ron has devoted a great amount of time in support of the Manchester Youth Regional Hockey Association teams as a referee and coach.

At this time, Ron is still active as a player in several “old timers bracket” hockey teams.