Hall of Fame Members

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.

No doubt, Ron Peters is the only man in the room today who has safely guided 747 jets onto Logan Airport runways and then, after getting off work, hightailed it to a rink to make line changes while coaching a hockey game. Ron, for 37 years as an air traffic controller, worked first in Boston and later in southern New Hampshire. That move north was our good fortune and it was in Nashua he became revered as the local “Father of Hockey.”

His robust hockey life started long before he came to New Hampshire, though-back in the late 1930s, on Jamaica Pond outside of Boston. At first, he was a skater, a grade-schooler then, who later put on the pads and became a standout high school District League goaltender.

Ron, in 1963, arrived in Nashua via a job transfer and with his vast experience immediately immersed himself in hockey. His player resume included practice goaltender for the Boston Olympics (Eastern Hockey League); goaltender Boston Barons; stalwart in the Newspaper League whose players all worked at Boston dailies (Post, Herald, Globe); a regular in the Mayflower Hockey League; and starter for the Wetzell Hockey Club of Braintree. Also, he and a few friends in 1958 had inaugurated the first youth hockey program in Brockton, MA. So, he was well prepared to give southern New Hampshire hockey a needed boost.

First, he became coach of the Nashua Royals in the Granite State Hockey League and won the 1964 league championship. He later served as GSHL president. When he met Adrien Labrie, a local general contractor, they conspired to raise funds and build the Nashua Garden rink.

Ron organized the first youth hockey program in Nashua, calling it the Greater Nashua Youth Hockey Association. The program was open to all hockey players, no matter which town they were from. He had lots of help from other lovers of the game in this creation. Ron became the first GNYHA president and served more than 10 years. It is estimated that more than 6000 youngsters benefited from the program.

Ron also formed the Twin State Youth Hockey League and coached mite level through junior teams. Some of his other duties included setting schedules, hiring officials, keeping records and statistics, selling ice time and driving the Zamboni. He even became a news correspondent, writing youth hockey and NEHL game stories for the Nashua Telegraph.

Later, he formed the Nashua Maple Leafs, an entry in the New England Hockey League, and became general manager and eventual coach of the team. When the Nashua Garden was forced to close its doors and the Maple Leafs were disbanded, Ron was hired to coach the Manchester Monarchs.

As time wore on, Ron became a certified AHA referee and joined with Paul Fischer, George Marineau and Brother John Paul, as prime movers in inaugurating the Nashua High School and Bishop Guertin High School hockey programs. Marineau became the first hockey coach for Nashua HS. Brother John Paul became Bishop Guertin’s first head coach.

Ron Peters – Class of 2008.

For 12 years, Ron DeGregorio’s leadership helped USA Hockey evolve into one of the world’s most respected hockey federations.

A resident of Salem for the past three decades, DeGregorio has been involved with the sport for more than 40 years as a player, coach and administrator, whose work and forward-thinking has resulted in notable improvements to the success, popularity and safety of hockey in the United States.

DeGregorio’s first appointment with USA Hockey came in 1973 when he was named registrar for the New England District, where he oversaw the reorganization of the district into several smaller, more manageable affiliates.

DeGregorio was first elected to the USA Hockey board of directors in 1975 and was the organization’s first vice president of youth hockey. In the 1980s, he served as treasurer of USA Hockey.

He has represented the U.S. at countless events during his tenure with USA Hockey. His first official role came as team leader of Team East at the 1979 U.S. Olympic Festival, from which the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team was chosen.

DeGregorio also served as team leader for the 1994 U.S. Olympic hockey team that competed in Lillehammer, Norway. DeGregorio has represented the USA at the 1998, 2002, ’06, ’10 and ’14 Olympic Winter Games and at numerous International Ice Hockey Federation championships.

He was elected president of USA Hockey on June 14, 2003, and unanimously re-elected to his fourth term on June 10, 2012. He stepped down from the position in June.

He was one of the architects of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, a two-year residency program for the top 16- and 17-year-old players in the United States. The program has greatly influenced U.S. success in international competition.

In January 2009, the organization launched the American Development Model, which, for the first time ever, provided associations nationwide with a blueprint for optimal athlete development. USA Hockey furthered the enhancement of those efforts by advancing the USA Hockey SafeSport Program in June 2012.

The former Boston Latin and Middlebury College goaltender is also known throughout the region as the originator of “Mini One-on-One,” a youth hockey competition that is broadcast through the Boston Bruins’ television network.

Roland ‘DeDe’ Villeneuve

Attended Notre Dame High School from 1953 to 1957 and was a key figure on the hockey team that won four state championships in each of his four years. In DeDe’s senior year at Notre Dame, he scored 60 goals and had 40 assists, very significant when one considers that high schools only played up to 26 games a year including tournaments. That same year, 1957, Notre Dame High School won the New England High School Championship held at Providence, R.I.. He was selected to be on the all tournament team and voted the tournaments Most Valuable Player. Note: Massachusetts high schools were part of the tournament back then. DeDe was a member of the famed Berlin Maroons (AHAUS) hockey team from 1957 to 1972. In those fifteen years he scored 336 goals. DeDe was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1972 AHAUS Senior Open Tournament. Walter Brown, owner of the NHL Boston Bruins invited him to a tryout for the Bruins, but had to decline due to prior commitments. DeDe was a member of the Berlin Maroons when they won two AHAUS (Amateur Hockey Association of the United States) National Championships in 1967 and 1968.

Roland ‘Bird’ Lavigne

Nicknamed the “Bird”, Roland grew up in Berlin and played three seasons for Notre Dame High School. He captained the 1961-62 team that captured the New Hampshire State Championship and then represented our state in the New England Schoolboy Hockey Tournament in Providence, R.I, where he was recruited by the Boston Bruins.

He attended the Bruins’ training camp in the fall of 1963, traveling to Niagara Falls, Ontario and Victoriaville, Quebec.

He played two stints for the Berlin Maroons, the first from 1962-63 through 1965-66 and the second from 1967-68 through 1971-72.

From 1965 through 1967, he served in Vietnam in the U.S. Army Military Police.

In 1967-68, the Maroons captured both the Senior A.H.A. New England and A.H.A National titles and he was a 1st Team All-Star selection in the tournament.

Always a top scorer, he led the Maroons in production in the 1968-69 season. He had 20 goals, 24 assists for 44 points. In the 1969-70 season, he again led the Maroons with 31 points on 13 goals and 18 assists. In the 1970-71 season, he scored a career high 55 points on 21 goals and 34 assists.

Roger Letourneau moved to Berlin as a teenager and went on to have a standout career as a high-scoring forward for the Berlin Maroons, Concord Eastern Olympics and Concord Budmen in the 1960s and ‘70s.

A native of the province of Quebec, Letourneau enrolled at Berlin High School as a junior in the fall of 1965 and made an immediate impact once he was cleared to play on the school’s hockey team the following February.  He played in a total of 12 games, including the state tournament (won by BHS) and the New England tourney at the Boston Garden. In those 12 games, he scored 14 goals and added five assists for 19 points, and was selected the MVP of the state tourney.

As a senior in 1966-67, he scored 42 goals and managed 74 points for a Berlin team that went 20-5, and won the state and New England tournaments.
He was the MVP of the New England tourney, tallying both goals in a 2-1 win over Rhode Island champion Cranston East, and
scoring the tying goal and playing the final 10 minutes in a 3-2 win over Maine champion St. Dominic in the final.

After playing part of a season in New Prep in Cambridge, Mass., Letourneau returned to Berlin and joined the Berlin Maroons for the latter half of the 1967-68 season. In 16 games, including playoffs, he had 34 goals and 12 assists, and the team won the National AHA Senior Championship.

He would play for the Maroons for four seasons. In those years he totaled 117 goals and 76 assists for a total of 193 points.

In the spring of 1970, Letourneau was invited, along with teammates Carl Langlais and Roland Lavigne, to participate on a USA Senior All-Star team that played against the U.S. Olympic Team in a weekend tourney in Lake Placid, N.Y.  A year later, he was invited to attend the training camp of the Boston Braves and, in 1972, he earned an invitation to training camp with the Hartford Whalers.

Letourneau continued playing amateur hockey, for the Eastern Olympics starting in 1971-72 until the New England Hockey League was disbanded. He played in 136 games for the team, scoring 112 goals and adding 96 assists for 208 total points, good for ninth place on the all-time list of the Olympics’ scorers.

When the Olympics folded, he played for the Concord Budmen in its inaugural season of 1975-76 season. In September of 1976, he returned to Quebec, making his home first in Lennoxville and later Sherbrooke.