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.
“Kangaroo.” He was a scorer, a jumper and always an annoying opponent. He also, when he was on the ice, was faster and more acrobatic than any of those who tried to catch him. Beloved by many but not by all, “Kangaroo” was Normand Hebert and he had the ability to bring the crowd to its feet, no matter which town he played in. He grew up in Quebec and in 1962 settled in Manchester, bringing with him a long list of hockey credentials. His earliest skating history traces to age 5 and by age 12 he was being scouted by Les Canadiens. During high school, he played for the Aces of Magog (1955-57) and during his second season was the top Scorer (25 G/40 A.) Later, he played three seasons of Junior Hockey in Granby, PQ, followed by a semi-pro season in which he was the team’s leading scorer. Once settled in Manchester, he found the local rink and signed on with the Alpine Club, playing four seasons in the Granite State Hockey League (1962-63 through 1965-66.) Among others, his teammates were Ray Champagne and Willie Bibeau. For two seasons, Norm was the AC’s leading scorer, and was selected team MVP in another. Then came his tenure with the famed Manchester Blackhawks of the New England Hockey League. He played four seasons (1966-70) and twice led the team in scoring (’67 and ’68.) When the Blackhawks became the Manchester Monarchs, Norm was right there on opening night. The Monarchs existed for four seasons (1970-74), first as a member of the NEHL then as a member of the Can-Am League. In 1970, “Kangaroo” was selected to play on an All-Star team that traveled to Lake Placid to take part in the Kennedy International Games. In two games, he scored two goals and assisted on four others. Also in 1970, he recorded 68 assists, which was an NEHL record and he finished fifth in scoring with 80 points. Overall, the Monarchs won the regular-season title in 1970-71 and also two League Championships. In his last two years of competitive hockey prior to his return to Quebec, Norm played for the independent Tri-City Coachmen (1974-75) and for the Concord Budmen in the NEHL (1975-76, their first season). He returned to Canada the summer of 1976. Three of his children were born in Manchester and two sons played in the Manchester Youth Hockey travel team program. Norm has participated in several Blackhawk Alumni games including the Big Reunion games against the Concord Eastern Olympics. He still plays in a checking league once a week back home and surely continues to bring the crowd to its feet. Normand A. “Kangaroo” Hebert – Class of 2007.
One of the top 50 point-getters in University of New Hampshire history, Dana Barbin is one of the most gifted offensive players in New Hampshire hockey history.
“One of the things for me is that I’ve been out of UNH for a long time, Class of ’81, and I’ve been coaching for 25 years at Exeter, so I don’t think about my former playing days that much anymore,” he said. “But when I look back I have wonderful memories of my teammates, coaches and all the different people in my life that have impacted my hockey, and most importantly, my life.”
One of only three natives of the Granite State to tally 100 or more points for the Wildcats – joining Frank Roy and the recently graduated Paul Thompson – Barbin grew up playing his hockey not far from Durham. An Exeter Youth Hockey alumnus, Barbin began his high school career in 1972 at Exeter High School, where he played varsity hockey for four seasons and helping the Blue Hawks to the state title game as a junior in 1975. And while Exeter fell to the powerful Mountaineers of Berlin, 5-3 – Barbin had one of the three goals – he was instrumental in captaining the Blue Hawks all the way back to the semifinals the following season.
A tremendously gifted three-sport athlete, Barbin also suited up for the football and baseball teams, where he was captain and MVP in football. As a sophomore quarterback, Barbin scored three touchdowns in a game against Manchester West, breaking a 6-6 tie wide open and giving the Blue Hawks a 26-6 victory at historic Gill Stadium. As a senior, Barbin played in the annual New Hampshire-Vermont Shrine Game.
After graduating from Exeter in 1976, Barbin attended Kent School in Connecticut for a post-graduate year. He dominated the prep school scene, garnering MVP honors in football, hockey and baseball before attending Durham in the fall of 1977.
In four seasons of hockey with the Division I Wildcats, Barbin racked up 127 points (40 g, 87 a) in 125 games, which currently puts him 44th on UNH’s all-time points list. The ‘Cats accumulated a record of 71-53-4, winning the Hockey East championship as a sophomore in 1979. He was a co-captain during his senior year and was selected as the team’s “Unsung Hero Award” winner.
Barbin continued his hockey career at the professional level, playing in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the Herlev Ishockey Klub from 1981-84. Coached by UNH Hall of Famer Richard David, Barbin played with former UNH teammate Frank Barth and the three combined to help win the 1984 Elite Series Gold Medal.
He also played in Sweden for Kristianstad Ishockey Klub in 1984-85, and was the player/coach for the Rungsted Ishockey Klub in Horsholm, Denmark, from 1985-87. He also served as co-coach to the Danish National Team with Frank Barth during that same time period.
Barbin returned to the United States in 1987, where he was employed by Phillips Exeter Academy in his hometown of Exeter. He was the Athletic Director from 1989-99, and has been the varsity boys’ hockey coach for the Big Red since 1992.
In 19 seasons with Phillips Exeter, he’s amassed a staggering win-loss record of 386-175-30. He guided the Big Red to the 1999 Division I New England championship with a record of 30-3-0, and was named Coach of the Year for his efforts. Eleven of Barbin’s former players have been drafted into the NHL.
Every hockey player knows the name Hobey Baker. Not everyone knows his story, though; not everyone knows that the opening chapter has a New Hampshire dateline.
His given name was Hobart Amory Hare Baker and at age 11 he and his brother Thorton came to St. Paul’s School in Concord from their home in Bala-Cynwyd, PA. Seven years later, he was heralded as one on the great athletes of his day, and his hockey fame was established. He helped build his own legend, skating on Turkey Pond on campus when the moon was high.
A fellow student once recalled that “It was always Hobey who was first on the autumn-scented black ice where, at lightning speed, he led the few friends who could keep up with him on night flights.” It was during these night-skating sessions that Hobey developed the ability to carry the puck while never looking down at his stick. He was, indeed, at that age considered something special and quickly became St. Paul’s number-one athlete, also achieving fame in football, baseball and crew.
On the ice, Baker played in the age of seven-man hockey when forward passing and substitutions were not allowed. He played the position of rover, ie the offensive superstar permitted to roam all over the ice. A typical play for him was to take a rebound in his own end, circle the goal to pick up speed, and then sprint the length of the ice. Because of the no-substitution rule and his phenomenal endurance, this went on the entire game.
After graduating from St. Paul’s School in 1909, he enrolled at Princeton University and his athletic fame continued to grow. Following his junior year in 1913, he was heralded as “the wonder player of hockey.” He led Princeton to two hockey championships and captained the Tigers’ hockey team for two seasons. He also was captain and quarterback of the football team. His two captaincies were considered a rarity then, and even today remains so.
After leaving Princeton, Hobey continued to play hockey for the fabled St. Nicholas Skating Club in New York City until he enlisted as a pilot and joined the famed Lafayette Esquadrille flying unit in World War I. He flew a plane painted with Princeton’s orange and black colors. He survived the war but tragically was killed at age 26 in an air accident in Toul, France shortly after the end of the war while testing a repaired aircraft.
He is among a handful of Americans inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, honored in 1945. He also was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He remains the only athlete ever inducted into both. Additionally, in 1973, he was a charter member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame; and Princeton University inducted him for football and hockey. He was renowned for his sportsmanship and during his Princeton hockey career was penalized only once on the ice.
His name will always be preserved in the hockey world because of the annual award which recognizes strength of character both on and off the ice and is given to the best U.S. Division I collegiate hockey player: The Hobey Baker Memorial Award
Twenty-eight years of competitive ice time adds up to a lot of worn skate laces and hundreds of games played on a long list of rinks. For Lee, you also could add in that the pucks from all of the goals he scored over that time might easily fill a dump truck.
Lee came up through the Concord Youth Hockey Association-Mites through Bantams-first stepping onto the ice at age 5. By the time he was a Squirt, he showed his natural knack for puck control and scoring. Always a forward, he enrolled at St. Paul’s School for grade 7, later playing three seasons of varsity hockey, always among the school’s top scorers.
Just prior to his senior year, he transferred to Concord High School (class of 1977) and in that one season led CHS to its first State hockey title, defeating Bishop Guertin, 3-2. In the semi-final round versus Manchester Memorial, Lee scored five goals in the 5-2 win. He ended that season as the State’s top schoolboy scorer: 35G – 32A – 67P. He also, that school year, captained hockey, golf and baseball.
After graduation, he went to the Oshawa Generals’ (Ontario Hockey League) training camp and was assigned to play with the Newmarket Flyers. The lone American on that team, he finished 5th in scoring.
Returning home for the 1978-79 season, he played for the Fitchburg (MA) Wallopers in the New England Junior Hockey League, leading the league in scoring with a record-setting 115 points. He was named MVP. The Wallopers then won the NEJHL title and Lee was named tourney MVP and also a member of the All Tourney 1st team.
Then came Boston College, where for his four varsity seasons (1979-80 through 1982-83), he was a major scoring force. As a freshman, he finished 2nd in the 1980 ECAC Rookie of the Year balloting. As a junior, he led the team in goals scored, finishing 2nd in total points. As a senior, he was team captain and again led the team in goals scored, ranking 2nd in total points. He also played in four Beanpot Tournament finals, winning the championship his senior year. His varsity production of 58G – 60A – 118P in 111 games earned him a place in BC’s prestigious 100-point Club. He graduated in 1983 with a bachelor of arts in economics.
After graduation, he attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp and was assigned to the Nashville (TN) South Stars of the East Coast Hockey League. Later that season, he was with the Virginia Lancers and by season’s end had played in 69 games, scoring 61G – 47A – 108P.
In 1984, he again attended the Penguins’ training camp and returned to the Virginia Lancers’ lineup. After 46 games, he was moved over to the International Hockey League to play with the Toledo (OH) Goaldiggers. His season’s production in 71 games was 65G – 64A – 129P.
In 1985, he began the season with the Goaldiggers but at the trading deadline in March of ’86 was sent to the IHL’s Fort Wayne (IN) Komets. It was a three-for-one swap, with Lee being the One player in the transaction! Fort Wayne, with him in the lineup, definitely got the best of the deal and eventually won the IHL title, thanks to his sharp scoring skills. The team, though, lost in the Turner Cup finals. In 72 games that season (with both teams), Lee had 33G – 33A – 66P.
At the start of the 1986-87 season, Lee again was on the Fort Wayne roster but later was offered a contract to play in Finland. He decided to retire as a pro and he returned to Concord.
For the next five seasons (1987-88 through 1991-92), he regularly suited-up with the Concord Budmen, continuing to produce game winning goals and assists, fashioning a lot of memories for teammates and for the many who watched him play. He also has filled his hockey time as assistant hockey coach at Plymouth State College (1987-89); as a color broadcaster for Channel 12-Concord H S (1989-94); and currently serves as a member of the BC Hockey Booster Club (Pike’s Peak Club).
Today, he resides in Boston’s North End and is national sales director for Consumers Medical Resource of Pembroke, MA.
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.
A Berlin, New Hampshire Native, Rod Blackburn became the University of New Hampshire’s first ever all-American in 1961.
His goaltending career began at Notre Dame High School, perennial New Hampshire schoolboy champions in the 1950’s. In 1957, Blackburn helped guide Notre Dame beyond the state title to its first New England schoolboy championship.
As a freshman at U.N.H. in 1957-58, he averaged 60 saves per game on the freshman team, and in one contest against Boston University, he stopped 102 shots as his team lost 8-0. This noteworthy performance attracted national media attention and was reported in “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated’s March 1958 issue, dedicated to superb feats by athletes all over the world. As U.N.H. team captain in 1961, Rod averaged 42 saves per game and was considered by many U.S. College Coaches as the best goaltender in college hockey, east or west. He was a post season selection to the All-New England, All-East and finally to the NCAA First Team All-American Team.
Blackburn made the transition to Senior Hockey with the Berlin Maroons Hockey Club, finalist at the 1961 and 1962 National AHA tournaments. At each of these tournaments, he was selected tournament Most Valuable Player.
Following commissioned service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Rod played with the St. Paul Steers of the U.S. Hockey League in 1965. In 1966 he was selected and played as a member of the U.S. National Hockey Team for the World Tournament in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia and again in 1967 for the world Tournament in Vienna, Austria.
In 1983, Rod was inducted into the U.N.H. Athletic Hall of Fame.
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.
When the Sacred Heart Church in Concord formed a four-team local hockey league in 1931, and selected top players from those teams to represent the parish, one of the first standout players was the late Paul Colgan, who’d go on to play 15 years for the renowned Sacred Heart team, including the last nine as captain.
A Concord native, Colgan was the son of Philip Colgan, who designed and built the Sacred Heart ice rink on Pleasant Street, along with Elphege Couture, in 1930. Paul Colgan, a forward, started playing for the team in 1931 and rarely missed a game for the next 11 years.
Between 1931 and ’42, he was the team’s leader in goals (73), assists (34) and points (107). During this period Sacred Heart posted a record of 82-26-5. Colgan held the team record for most goals (seven) scored in a game in 1933 until it was tied 15 years later by St. Paul’s School great Richard “Doc” Mechem.
The outbreak of World War II caused a threeseason (1942-45) cancellation of play. During this time, Colgan served honorably in the U.S. Army, in the Pacific theatre, until being discharged from the service in 1945. Ice hockey resumed in Concord in 1945-46 and Colgan was again named captain of the Sacred Heart team, an honor which he held until his retirement as a player in 1949. In 156 career games, he was Sacred Heart’s all-time leading scorer with 89 goals, 47 assists and 136 points.
Moving behind the bench, Colgan coached Sacred Heart during its famous game against the U.S. Olympic team on January 9, 1952, right here in Concord, at the Pleasant Street rink It was a game that saw Sacred Heart leading the American All-Stars through two periods.
According to people who knew him, Colgan will be remembered for his great sense of humor, quick wit, gentlemanly manner, high moral character and gracious camaraderie. On the ice he was a fleet skater, a keen play-maker, a great passer and stick-handler with a hard shot.
Colgan passed away on Oct. 16, 1992 at the age of 79. His legacy was one that inspired many New Hampshire youths, who went on to later play for local schools and leagues.
Kent Carlson’s career took an upward track from his starring role as a defenseman on Concord High School’s 1977 and 1979 state championship teams to his selection as an ECAC 2nd Team All-Star in 1983 and on to his 113 game NHL stint with the Montreal Canadians, St. Louis Blues, and Washington Capitols. He also stared at New Hampton Prep and St. Lawrence College. Kent also the fist American born player to captain the Montreal Canadians top farm club the Sherbrooke Beavers guiding them to the AHL’ S Calder Cup in the 1984-85 season. Carlson overcame serious injuries to his arm and back, undergoing spinal fusion surgery in 1986, before returning to professional hockey for three more productive years. Carlson is one of New Hampshire’s greatest athletes as voted by Sports Illustrated.
A spinal-cord injury playing junior hockey at the age of 16 set Taylor Chace down a path that ultimately made him a three-time Paralympic medalist.
Chace, a native of Hampton Falls, excelled at several sports growing up but hockey was his best. He became the youngest member of the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs in the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
On Oct. 6, 2002, playing in a charity game with the Monarchs in Cannington, Ont., Chace was checked, back-first, into the dasher behind the net. He collapsed to the ice, unable to feel or move from the waist down.
He was diagnosed with an incomplete spinal cord injury. After hours of surgery, weeks of hospitalization and months of rehabilitation, he relearned to walk using his remaining muscle in 2003; Chace was introduced to Northeast Passage at the University of New Hampshire and the sport of sled hockey. Two years later, he was invited to try out for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team and made it.
Since 2005, Chance has played a big role in the U.S. National Team’s success. He was part of a bronze medal-winning team at the Paralympics Games in Torino in 2006. And 2010, he reached the pinnacle of his sport, captaining a U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Paralympics Games in Vancouver. He was named the tournament’s Top Defenseman and the Paralympics Sportsman of the Year for 2010.
In 2014, he helped the Americans become the first team to win back-to-back gold medals in sled hockey at the Paralympics, beating host Russia, 1-0, in the gold-medal game in Sochi.
Brendan Creagh grew up in the Upper Valley, graduated from Hanover High School as the program’s all-time top-scoring defenseman, and later played four seasons at the University of Vermont and four seasons professionally.
Born in Connecticut, Creagh grew up in Hanover and played youth hockey in the area. He was a member of N.H. All-Stars each of his years from 13 until he aged out at 18, one year getting invited first to the New England selection camp and then the national camp. He made the U.S. Select 16 team in 1986, playing in an international tournament in Chicago.
At Hanover High School, he was named Rookie of the Year as a sophomore after leading the Marauders in scoring (16 goals, 23 assists for 39 points) and a 14-7 record. As a junior, he scored 15-21-36 and was presented with the Charles Williams Award.
As a senior in the 1987-88 season, he put up 23 goals, 29 assists and 52 points, most on the team, as Hanover went 13-8-1. He was named team MVP and earned the Eddie Jeremiah award, and graduated Hanover as its all-time leading scorer among defensemen (54-73-127).
“He was an offensive threat every time he had the puck on his stick,” said his coach, Dick Dodds (Legends Hall of Fame Class of 2012). “I had the privilege of coaching Brendan for three years and he was a coach’s dream. He didn’t miss a workout (on or off the ice) in that time and he worked every day to make himself a better hockey player.
“He was a true warrior on the ice at practice. He treated every drill like it was the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final.”
Following a postgraduate year at Phillips Academy Andover, Creagh played four seasons at Vermont, getting elected an assistant captain during his senior season in 1992-93. He finished his career in Burlington, Vt., with 16 goals, 36 assists and 52 points.
After his sophomore year, when the Catamounts went 17-14-2, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1991 NHL Supplemental Draft. He also helped Vermont post a winning record his junior year, when it went 16-12-3 in 1991-92.
Creagh spent most of his professional career in the ECHL, playing two seasons for Greensboro (scoring 24 goals and 47 points) and two-plus years for Birmingham (16-49-65). He also played one game with Cornwall in the AHL.
He now teaches in the science department at Deerfield Academy following a long stint as that school’s hockey
coach.
Stoney was never tall or weighed very much, but it didn’t matter. Whichever level he played hockey at, he was always one of the very best. You couldn’t get the puck away from him even if everyone of the opposition was forechecking him.
In fact, going back to his Mite days, Brian was always quite the magician. If you were from the Manchester area, you might recall Brian and Kyle McDonough being teammates. That season, the Mites compiled a record of 44 wins, five ties and six losses. Brian had an impressive 64 goals and 45 assists. It was a sign of things to come. By the time he finished his college career, his name was on almost every scoring sheet in all the games he played.
He played four seasons for Manchester Central High School, 1980-81 through 1983-84. He led team in scoring three straight seasons. In his junior and senior years, he was named to the All-State team. As a senior, he served as Captain and was named team MVP, plus MVP of Holiday tournament and MVP of the New England High School All-Star Tournament. He scored an astounding 216 points with 90 goals and 126 assists for an average of 3-plus points per game.
He played four seasons for New England College, 1984-85 through 1987-88. He led team in scoring three consecutive seasons. He was voted Captain his junior and senior years. In four seasons, he missed only one game. He was selected to All-Tournament teams three different occasions. He ranks second in career points with 59 goals, 114 assists for 173 points in 92 games, an average of 1.88 points per game. He still ranks first in career assists with 114.
He was inducted into the New England College Athletic Hall of Fame on September 23, 2001.
He played on the Manchester Flames Junior C team which won national titles in April of 1985 and again in 1986.
Brian was offered a professional contract to play in France. However, he declined.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Queen City Hall of Fame.
To this day, Brian continues to play in Manchester men’s hockey leagues
The late Maurice Couture, whose standout playing career for Sacred Heart spanned the entire existence of the team, is remembered as a marvelous stickhandler who could score from seemingly impossible angles with an accurate shot.
Born in Concord in 1915, Couture grew up playing hockey on local ponds, including White’s Park. His family lived on Warren Street across from Concord High School. He had two brothers and three sisters. His brother, Lionel, also played for a time with Sacred Heart.
Couture worked at the St. Paul’s School maintenance shop and later at its post office. He also enjoyed playing tennis at the Bow Brook Club and softball for a west end team in the city. He later married and bought a home on Broadway Street.
Couture played for Sacred Heart from 1931-52. He compiled the highest number of goals (119) and assists (115) of any player on the team, and was named captain of the team following Paul Colgan’s retirement from play in 1947. He finished his playing career with 234 points in 150-plus games.
Teammates and friends remember that, though Couture was not the fastest skater on the ice, he had the ability to deke out opposing players, especially goalies, to set himself up in position to score. He also had the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time to make a perfect pass, while also knowing when to shoot on net himself.
He was the captain of Sacred Heart during the famous hockey game held in Concord against the 1952 U.S. Olympic team. Following the disbandment of the team at the end of the 1951-52 season, he continued to play in pickup hockey games at White’s Park for another decade.
Couture would often work late at the outdoor Sacred Heart ice rink to flood and maintain it. It was said he just loved being on the ice and playing whenever he could. His acquaintances also recall how he had a great sense of humor and strong character, and welcomed many new players into the Sacred Heart fold.
Couture passed away at the age of 86 in Concord on Christmas Day in 1999.
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.
First came the Learn-To-Skate program. Then, she skated one season with the mites in Derry before enrolling in the Manchester Flames organization. For most of that time, it was hockey with all boys. The girls’ programs in New Hampshire back then were still few and far between.
By the time Tricia Dunn was a junior at Pinkerton Academy, she was skating in an out-of-state women’s/girl’s program-in Chelmsford, MA-for a team called the Lions.
By that time, her talent was easily seen and her destiny was to become one of the all-time greats among women hockey players at the University of New Hampshire, followed by her play as a forward with the US Women’s Olympic and National teams.
Following her two seasons skating with the Lions, it seemed a natural union: Tricia and UNH. And it was. When those four years came to an end in 1996, she had played 108 games and scored 117 points-60 goals and 57 assists. Her best single-point season was 1995 when she potted 23 goals and added 27 assists.
In her senior year, she was named to the all tournament team after UNH won the ECAC title in five overtimes. That game against Providence still ranks as the longest game in collegiate history at 145 minutes and 35 seconds.
Tricia was inducted into the UNH Hall of Fame in 2003.
She went on to play for the U.S. Women’s National Program from 1996 through 2006, during which time she skated in three Olympic Winters Games, five International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championships and nine Three/Four Nations Cups, among other events.
When the American women won the Olympic gold medal at Nagano, Japan in 1998, Tricia potted the goal that beat the Canadian women in the last round-robin game. That win gave the team a 5-0 record going into the medal round. She also played on the US Olympic team in 2002 and 2006, where she captured silver and bronze medals, respectively. While she was wearing a team USA jersey, she played in 196 games, scoring 56 goals and 48 assists.
She graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1992 and also is enshrined in that school’s Hall of Fame.
Tricia also had a brief professional career (2005-06 and 2006-07) playing with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women’s Hockey League, scoring 57 points in 39 games.
Tricia Dunn-Luoma Class of 2008.
Before Corey-Joe Ficek was playing a key role on a pair of University of New Hampshire teams that reached the Frozen Four, he was dazzling the state as a schoolboy star and champion at Manchester Memorial High School.
In three years at Memorial, Ficek scored at least 20 goals all three seasons. He finished with 72 goals playing for Wally Tafe (Legends Hall of Famer ’09), despite having his last two seasons shortened by wrist and leg injuries, respectively.
During his junior season, he led the Crusaders to a 4-2 win over Concord in the Division 1 championship game, scoring all four of his team’s goals as his school won the first state title after schools in New Hampshire were broken into two divisions. The Manchester native was named Player of the Year in the state.
From there Ficek moved on to St. Paul’s School in Concord to play for another Legends Hall of Fame coach, Bill Matthews ’06. He managed 49 goals and 39 assists in two seasons, playing against strong competition in the Independent School League and twice getting named ISL All-League. He was captain and team MVP as a senior.
As a freshman at UNH, he played the most games of any freshman on the team as the Wildcats reached their first Frozen Four, losing to Michigan in the national semifinals in Boston. When the ‘Cats returned to the Frozen Four a year later in Anaheim, Calif., losing in the national championship game to Maine, Ficek was named the team’s Most Improved Player, skating in 40 games and producing 10 goals and 17 points. Ficek played all four years for Dick Umile (Legends Hall of Famer ’09).
A tenacious defensive forward, Ficek finished his UNH career with 28 goals and 56 points in 128 games played. He received the Warren R. Brown Memorial Award as a senior for being the best defensive forward on the team, also serving as alternate captain.
After playing professionally for three seasons in Germany, Ficek returned to Manchester, where his hockey commitments include volunteering with MRYHA’s “Learn to Skate” program. He was inducted into the Queen City Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named to the All-N.H. Millennium second team as selected by the Union Leader in 1999.
“Looking back on where CJ has come from in his youth play, through his high school and college careers, and where he is today, I’ve seen him grow not only as a player but as a coach, parent, and member of the community,” said Matthew Tafe, the son of Wally Tafe, whose own son was instructed by Ficek.
After starring at the University of New Hampshire, Foster played six years of pro hockey, including a one-game stint in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, and became the 11th goaltender in pro hockey history to get credit for scoring a goal.
Foster grew up in Pembroke, and played youth hockey with the Concord Capitals and junior with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, backstopping that team to the EJHL championship in 2004-05.
At UNH, which he attended on a full scholarship after playing one season in the USHL, Foster assumed the starting role as a junior in 2008-09 and posted a record of 19-11-4 despite struggling with an ankle injury.
He was strong down the stretch and finished with a 2.68 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 35 games. He stopped 40 shots in a wild, 6-5 overtime win over North Dakota in the NCAA tournament, regarded as one of the most exciting games in UNH history, before the Wildcats fell a
day later to Boston University, 2-1, and saw their season end one win short of the Frozen Four.
The next year, he was one of just four seniors on team that captured the Hockey East regular-season championship. He finished with an overall record of 17-14-7 and recorded a GAA of 2.98 and a .908 save percentage, getting named a second-team All-America.
The following season, 2010-11, Foster began what would be a six-year professional career, splitting his campaign between Bossier-Shreveport in the Central Hockey League and the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, where he starred down the stretch, posting a 2.78 GAA and .918 save percentage in 19 games.
In 2011-12, Foster made his NHL debut with the Panthers on his 25th birthday, playing five minutes in relief of Scott Clemmensen against the Tampa Bay Lighting and stopping the one shot he faced.
In 2012-13, while playing for Cincinnati, he became the 11th pro goaltender to be credited a goal during a game between the Cyclones and the Trenton Titans.
After playing 45 games the next season for the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder, he signed to play with Lillehammer-IK in the Norwegian League, finishing with a 2.94 GAA and .904 save percentage in 43 games.
The next season, his final as a pro player, he returned to the States and split time between two Pittsburgh Penguins affiliates — the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers and AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He led Wheeling to a deep playoff run, posting a 3.02 GAA and .902 save percentage in 16 games as the Nailers reached the Kelly Cup finals.
Foster currently works as a goaltending instructor for GDS and is the goaltending coach at the University of New Hampshire.
He stood only 5 feet-4 inches – just a wisp of a center; a teenager not yet old enough to get a driver’s license – when first he was handed a uniform by the fabled Berlin Maroons and given a regular spot on the celebrated roster.
That all happened to Wally Fournier back when the 1930s were becoming the 1940s. He then was at Berlin High School, blessed with uncommon hockey skills, able then to play for a Senior hockey organization while also playing for a high school team.
By 1943, when he graduated from Berlin HS, Wally had added three stellar varsity seasons to his fine freshman season, and had served as a senior BHS co-captain.
Throughout those four high-school years, Wally simultaneously skated with the Maroons, which was a bonus for everyone. It gave him double the ice time, while fans and teammates had double the pleasure watching him. He many times was cited for his quickness and superb stick handling. One admirer said he “had few equals.”
Within a month of his graduation, he was in a cadet in a US Army Air Corp program that eventually turned him into a skilled B-17 navigator. He then went off to Europe and flew seven bombing missions.
In 1946, when he again became a civilian, it was just in time to shake the dust out of his old Maroons jersey and lace up the skates. For the six seasons between 1946 and 1951, he was regularly on the ice, again doing double duty. This time, his other team was the University of New Hampshire. As a UNH freshman, he was captain. As a senior, he was varsity captain.
The vagaries of our northern New England winters, though, plus playing on an outdoor rink in Durham, sometimes made for a miserable UNH hockey life. In his freshman season (1947-48), he played but a thimbleful of games. And his three varsity seasons (1948-49 – 1949-50 – 1950-51) weren’t much better. He played just 16 total games. It was a major Ouch for someone who dearly loved the sport and excelled as a scorer and stick handler. A newspaper sports columnist, back in March of 1951 at the close of the shortened season, wrote that “Fournier never had a real chance to hit his stride,” adding that there is an opinion that “Wally Fournier is the greatest all-around ice star ever to graduate” from UNH.
While in Durham, Wally still got plenty of ice time, traveling back and forth to Berlin to suit up with the Maroons. “There was one time,” he recalled, “that I got off the ice after a game in Durham and didn’t even take off my uniform. I just rode straight to Berlin in time for a Maroons game.”
The Maroons at that time were a powerhouse. Three times the team won the New England Amateur Hockey Association title: 1948, 1949 and 1951. And Wally was right in the middle of it all.
Fortunately, Berlin’s Notre Dame Arena, which opened for the winter of 1947, had walls and a roof, which helped extend the life of naturally frozen ice. Artificial-ice-making equipment didn’t get installed at the Arena until 1966, which was 15 years after Wally retired as a skater.
After graduating from UNH in 1951 with a degree in civil engineering, Wally called a halt to playing hockey seriously and went off into the work world. He and his wife Phyllis had married during his sophomore year and family life had grown more important.
Married 60 years, the couple today still lives in Berlin. They have three children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
A standout youth player growing up in Berlin, Griffin went on to have a superb college career at two schools, helping lead Plattsburgh (N.Y.) State to the Division 2 championship game in both 1981 and ‘82.
Growing up, when he wasn’t playing, Griffin was attending Berlin Maroons games or watching the Boston Bruins play on TV. In his first year as a Squirt, he helped his team win a New England championship. A year later, he finished with 69 goals and 117 points on a team that would be the
runner-up in New Hampshire.
Griffin went on to play on state champion teams at the Pee-Wee (one season producing 78 goals and 97 assists), Bantam and Midget levels. He also played two seasons with the Berlin Jr. Maroons before enrolling at New England College in Henniker.
At New England College, Griffin made an immediate impact. As a freshman, he was the third leading scorer on the team, producing 11 goals and
20 assists for 30 points. The next year, he led the Pilgrims in scoring with 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points.
After his sophomore year, he transferred to Plattsburgh, one of the strongest programs in Division 2. He played in 30 games as a junior in 1980-81, amassing 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points.
After opening the season with wins over Clarkson, Colgate and Vermont (all Division 1 programs), his team won the ECAC West and reached the NCAA Division 2 championship game. Griffin was given the team’s Chester A. Grabowski Award, awarded annually to the player who most typifies Plattsburgh hockey, demonstrating supreme sportsmanship, hard work and dedication.
Plattsburgh again reached the national championship game during Griffin’s senior year of 1981-82- one that saw him produce 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points- while being coached by NHL Hall of Famer Jacques Lemaire, who joined the team as an assistant coach. He was named ECAC West playoff MVP and finished his college career with 60 goals, 94 assists and 154 points in 117 games.
After college, Griffin skated on a senior team of ex-college players from Plattsburgh that traveled throughout the Northeast and Canada playing in tournaments. The team won the Quebec City Winter Carnival Senior Tournament. He also played for two years in the Chesapeake Bay Senior League after relocating to Washington, D.C., for work.
Jeff Giuliano came out of Nashua to play on a national championship team at Boston College, play more than 100 games in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and craft a pro career than spanned 13 seasons.
His formative hockey years were played in the Nashua Youth Hockey League and at St. Paul’s School. As a left wing at BC, he developed a reputation for playmaking, work ethic, reliability, ruggedness, and leadership on and off the ice, annually being recognized as one of the team’s top defensive forwards.
His teams at BC played for the national championship twice, winning it 2000-01. His teammates on that squad included future NHL players Brian Gionta, Scott Clemmensen, Chuck Kobasew, Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi. The following year, Giuliano was elected to captain the team as a senior. He left BC having played the third-most games in school history (166) and played on two Hockey East championship teams.
Following his graduation, he began his pro career with the Reading Royals of the ECHL. After just 38 games, he was promoted to the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, where he would play parts of six seasons. In 273 games in Manchester, he amassed 30 goals and 88 points, and was named the team’s assistant captain for the 2006-07 season. In 29 playoff games he scored seven goals and added four assists.
Giuliano played the bulk of the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons with the L.A. Kings. In his fi rst season, he played in 48 games, scoring three goals and seven points. In his second stint, he managed six assists in 53 games. In his last season with the Kings, he was named the team’s Unsung Hero. After the 2007-08 season, Giuliano continued his pro career in Europe. He joined the Belarusian side HC Dinamo Minsk of the newly-formed KHL and played 45 games. In 2009, he joined the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany and would play for them for six seasons.
During his six-year tenure with the Roosters, Giuliano played in 245 games. He scored 42 goals and added 69 assists for 111 points, and added 2-3-5 totals in 11 playoff games. After six seasons with the Roosters, Jeff retired from professional hockey, his career ending on Nov. 14, 2014 when he sustained the fourth concussion of his career.
He returned to the U.S. to accept an assistant coaching position in 2015 with the Manchester Monarchs, who were by then competing in the ECHL. He is the skills director for the Manchester Flames and runs G2P (Giuliano Pro Performance) to help kids with hockey skill development, strength and conditioning, and nutrition.
In his career, Giuliano played 166 Division I games and 697 games as a professional in five different leagues in North America and Europe.
There’s a touch of irony in the Bruce Gillies’ hockey story. In the fall of 1980, he enrolled at the University of New Hampshire thanks to a football scholarship but it was on the ice minding the net for the nationally ranked hockey team where he made his real impact.
As a freshman and a sophomore, Bruce competently played both sports. Then came a knee injury on the football field. That changed everything. While recuperating, he had to live his athletic life for one full season as a hockey-team Red Shirt. It wasn’t comfortable. During that time, his focus shifted and football became just something he used to do. By the time he had healed and was able again to suit up as a goaltender, he was a force. So, too, was UNH for those next two years–which just happened to be UNH’s final year of ECAC competition, followed by the first year of play in the newly created Hockey East.
As with most goaltenders, Bruce began playing hockey as a youngster, starting out as a Mite in the Concord Youth Hockey program, then following the course through the Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam levels.
When he enrolled as a freshman at Bishop Brady High School in Concord, it was 1976 and he was ready for prime time. During his four years, the team twice went to the State finals — 1979 and 1980, coming up short on both occasions.
At the University of New Hampshire, his two starting seasons had many highlights. He was named an Assistant Captain for the 1983-84 season, and twice was named Bauer Player of the Week. During the 1984-85 season he again suffered another knee injury and after surgery, came back and twice was named Bauer Player of the Week, leading his team to the playoffs.
Bruce still ranks among the leaders in six of the 10 goalie record categories. His single season save record stood for almost 20 years.
Bruce’s collegiate play brought much notice and in the spring of 1985, he signed a three-year NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
As a member of Edmonton’s affiliate, the Muskegon Lumberjacks, he was an pivotal part of the 1985-86 season when the team won the Turner Cup, emblematic of the International Hockey League championship. He finished his Pro career in 1988. For the 1990-91 season, he was an Assistant Coach at New England College, and for the last several years has coached Youth Hockey players in the Portland area. Always a strong skater, Bruce also played for many years in the Capital City Hockey League in Concord as a forward. He still competes but in a No-Check League in the Portland area.
Bruce Gillies, Jr. – Class of 2007
Please welcome Bruce Gillies
Buzz was raised in Buffalo New York and graduated in 1960 from Nichols School there. He played three seasons of hockey, football and baseball, earning nine varsity letters. As a senior, he was captain of the baseball team and was named MVP; and in football received the Jack James MVP trophy. He also served as hockey captain his senior year and was selected team MVP. He led Nichols in scoring his junior and senior years, scoring 18 goals his senior season.
In his senior year he was awarded:
He enrolled at the University of New Hampshire and graduated in 1964. He was an outstanding hockey player earning three varsity letters and he served as captain his junior and senior years. He also was an outstanding freshman player. He ranks fifth on the UNH all-time career list for goals-per-game with an average of 0.86.
He played with the Concord Shamrocks of the and the Nashua Royals of the Granite State Hockey League, and in the 1965-66 season was the Royals’ leading scorer with 35 goals, 30 assists for 65 points and was named League MVP. He joined the Concord Coachmen for the 1966-67 season and scored 42 goals, 30 assists for 72 points. He played for the Concord Eastern Olympics from 1967-68 through the 1973-74, scoring 198 goals, 218 assists for 416 points in 306 games. His 416 points ranks second all-time behind Billy Seabury. Buzz led the team in scoring the 1973-74 season.
Additionally, Buzz skated with the Tri City Coachmen for the 1974-75 season, and later with the Concord Budmen.
Buzz also was a long-time official. He served with the NHIOA Hockey Officials Association from 1968 to 1983, serving as President from 1979 to 1981.
He devoted a lot of time to younger players, coaching in the Kennebunkport Youth Hockey Association.
In Katie King’s athletic life, her major accomplishments came in threes: three-time hockey Olympian (1998, 2002, 2006), three medals won (Gold ’98, Silver ’02, Bronze ’06) and three consecutive years as Ivy League Hockey Player of the Year (Brown University ’95, ’96, ’97.)
Her penchant for living her athletic life in threes started back at Salem (NH) High School where she graduated in 1993 as a three-sport varsity athlete, excelling in softball, basketball and field hockey. If there had been an ice-hockey program back in her SHS days, there’s no telling how many school and State records she might still hold today.
That doesn’t mean Katie came to hockey late in life, though. She was at it early on, playing against her brothers before moving onto an organized boys’ youth hockey team.
When she enrolled at Brown University in the fall of 1993, she was a seasoned veteran. Among her numerous awards for her outstanding collegiate play was the Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the 1996-97 season. Overall, in her collegiate career, she played 206 games and scored 206 points (123 G/83 A.) How’s that for consistency and dependability?
Among her international hockey achievements are: six-time member of the US World Championship team (’97, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’04, ’06); recipient of the Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year at the annual USA Hockey Congress in Colorado Springs; scored a hat trick in the 4-0 win over Finland (’06) to capture the Bronze medal; tied in Team USA’s overall scoring at the ’98 Olympics; ranked third in scoring (’01) for the US Women’s National Team with 57 points (29 G/28 A) in 39 games.
Currently, she ranks second in the history of women’s ice hockey in America with 265 points (146 G/119 A) in 210 games.
Before announcing her retirement, Katie led the 2006 Olympic Team in scoring.
She is co-author of a book called Gold Medal Ice Hockey for Women and Girls.
Currently, she is an Assistant Hockey Coach at Boston College.
And just for the record, she compiled a 44-0 record as a softball pitcher at Salem High School and had six perfect games, leading SHS to four Class L titles. She also captained the field hockey and basketball teams.
Katie King – Class of 2007
Please welcome Katie King
Perhaps the highest accolade any hockey player can receive is one from an opponent – especially an opponent who gathered many accolades himself.
“Our biggest concern was the Tiger’s first line of Dan Stuckey and the Sloan brothers, particularly Dan Stuckey.” Those are the admiring words of Jack Riley, who also said, “I had the highest respect for him. That Princeton line was the best we played against.”
Jack Riley and Dan were Ivy League rivals back in the early 1940s-Dan at Princeton University; Jack at Dartmouth College. Jack later went on to play on the 1948 US Olympic team (St. Moritz) and also coached West Point hockey and the 1960 US Olympic team that won gold at Squaw Valley.
Dan, meanwhile, forged his own niche in the sport. He grew up in Exeter, NH, on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, where his dad was a teacher. Dan enrolled there in 1933, excelling both academically and athletically. Often described as an exceptional athlete, he earned varsity letters in hockey, lacrosse and football, graduating in 1937.
Later, that fall, he was on campus at Princeton University studying the Classics and playing freshman football. When winter arrived, he played hockey; in the spring it was lacrosse. As a sophomore, he was a regular on the three varsity teams. In his junior year, Princeton won the Ivy League hockey title and Dan was named All-Ivy League, an honor he received three consecutive seasons. In his senior year, he was hockey captain and in one memorable 4-2 win against Harvard he scored four goals. In Dan’s 50 career games, Princeton won 28, lost 18 and tied 4.
Also during his senior year, the Princeton lacrosse team was undefeated and won the 1942 national title, with Dan receiving All America Honorable Mention. He graduated in 1942 and with World War II in progress immediately went into the US Navy, serving as a Lieutenant aboard a destroyer – USS Niblack (DD 424).
Discharged in 1946, he joined the faculty at Hebron, ME Academy to teach Latin and to coach hockey, football and track. Also at that time, he began graduate studies at Harvard College. In 1948, he joined the Classics Department at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH. That year, he almost became a teammate of Jack Riley’s on the ’48 US Olympic team. Dan was selected but family obligations forced him to decline. His eldest son, Peter, had been born less than a year earlier.
By 1950, Dan owned his masters degree in history from Harvard and in 1958 became head of the Classics Department at St. Paul’s. That year also was the beginning of a nine-season stint as St. Pauls’ head hockey coach. He also coached football for three seasons.
During those years in Concord, Dan regularly was in the lineup for the famed Sacred Heart amateur hockey team, and in the 1950- 51 season, in nine games, scored 19G – 16A – 35 P. That season, Sacred Heart lost in the New England AHA quarterfinals to Dedham, MA, 4-3, in overtime. Dan had all three goals.
In January of 1952, he worked a deal with his good friend, Walter Brown, to bring the US Olympic Team-soon bound for the Oslo Games-up to Concord for a pair of exhibition tilts to help defray team travel costs. The two games-versus Sacred Heart and St. Paul’s-netted $900.
During his sabbatical year of 1957-58, Dan studied and taught at his alma mater, Princeton University. He also served there as assistant hockey coach for both the varsity and freshmen teams.
From 1967 through 1971, he served as athletic director at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME and was a co-founder of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, which still exists.
In 1971, Dan became assistant principal and alumni director at Phillips Exeter Academy, ending up where he had started. He retired in 1983, to Castine, ME, where 10 years later he died at age 73.
He and his widow, Madeline, had three sons: Peter, John and Mark.
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.
A young hockey player’s idea of Heaven on Earth is to have his own full-sized rink operating year-round in the backyard. Jon Leonard knows. He spent nine years between ages 8 and 17 skating in Heaven. The rink, though, wasn’t exactly out in his backyard and it wasn’t his alone. It was the Souhegan Skating Center in Merrimack, which his parents co-owned with another family while they all lived in nearby Bedford.
“The family business had a profound impact on me,” he says. “It still does to this day, and will for the rest of my life. The Sou, as we called it, was a place to play hockey, to work, to have fun and meet people. I grew up there.”
And grow up he did, into an exceptional hockey player-a high school MVP, a three-time college All America and finally a pro in Sweden.
In addition to his long hours spent at The Sou, he played at all levels in the Manchester Youth Hockey Association, and as a Squirt went to the finals of the Mini 1-on-1 competition. Later, he skated for Cardigan Mountain School, excelling on the ice and at soccer and lacrosse. He was hockey captain, too.
Then, he enrolled at Trinity Pawling School in Pawling, NY where he again was hockey captain and an MVP. Varsity soccer and lacrosse also remained part of his athletic life.
At Bowdoin College (class of 1987), he was an outstanding defenseman who earned All-America honors in 1985, 1986 and 1987, one of only three Bowdoin hockey players ever to be selected for three seasons. In 1984, he was named ECAC Rookie of the Year, and then in 1985, 1986 and 1987 named an All-New England defenseman. He was team captain his senior season and his name, too, is frequently found on the list of Bowdoin hockey records held by defensemen. At Bowdoin, he also played varsity lacrosse for three seasons.
During Jon’s varsity hockey career, Bowdoin won the 1986 ECAC title after having been a runner-up in 1984. The team also reached the ECAC semifinals in 1985 and 1987.
Jon, in 1987, was selected in the NHL’s Supplemental Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins but had already decided to sign a contract with Vita Hästen, a Division I professional team in Sweden. In nine pro years, he played 291 regular-season and playoff games, scoring 25 goals and 42 assists.
Since the 2002-03 season, he has been coaching in the Vita Hästen youth program.
Currently, Jon lives in Norrkoping, Sweden. He has one son, Desmond, and is employed by a Swedish company as a programmer consultant.
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.
Peter Maher forever etched his name in University of Maine hockey history when he scored the Black Bears’ first-ever goal in a Hockey East game, in 1984-85 against the University of New Hampshire.
It wouldn’t be the only milestone during a career that saw Maher grow up in Exeter and eventually play professionally in Denmark before coming back to New Hampshire for good.
Like so many players growing up in Exeter, Maher picked up the game through coach George Crowe’s (2004 inductee) “Learn to Skate” program at Phillips Exeter Academy. He prepped at Canterbury School in Connecticut after coach Charlie Huntington, who’d helped run a summer camp at the Academy, invited him down. In his senior season of 1980-81, Canterbury won the Division I prep title and Maher amassed 99 points in just 25 games. He’d leave as that program’s all-time goals and points leader, with 212 of the latter.
He used that as a springboard to college hockey at Maine. During his sophomore year Maher was one of the tops in the nation for points per game for the Black Bears. Before his senior year, the program joined with six others in New England to form Hockey East and Maher finished his final season with 10 goals and 27 points.
The first of those goals, against UNH at Snively Arena, was the first the Black Bears would score in a Hockey East game. “I always had some pretty decent games at Snively. I always got up for those games.”
For Maher, the induction is special for several reasons. For nearly a quarter century, he played on a line with good friends Dana Barbin (’11 Inductee) and John Normand (’07 Inductee) at adult tournaments across New England and Quebec. In addition he and John skated with the Concord Budmen.
“Being part of an elite group, with Dana and Johnny and other players I’ve played with or against, that’s special,” said Maher. “To be part of this group, I am very honored.”
Barbin helped him land a professional contract in Denmark after his graduation, playing in the Elite Series League for HIK. In his first year of professional hockey, in the top league in Denmark, Maher took home the Carlsberg Award as the league’s leading scorer. Before returning to Denmark in 1987-88 he played for the Budmen one season then led his team in scoring and had an opportunity to skate against the famed Red Army team in the Europa Cup in Norway.
Maher still makes his home in Exeter. Since 2000 he has operated Power Sum Technologies, which sells voice and data technology components.
But those who played with or against him remember the hockey most of all. “When the chips are down, he does not like to lose,” said Normand. “There’s an inner drive that he has. People have different gears – low gear, middle gear and high gear. When it’s time to turn it on, it’s like a switch goes off on this guy, and it’s contagious.”
Meyer, a Sanbornville native, rose to stardom at Boston University, won a Calder Cup with the Philadelphia Phantoms and went on to play parts of seven seasons in the NHL.
As a youth, he played in the 1994 and 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with minor hockey teams from Beverly, Massachusetts, and Syracuse, New York.
At Boston U., Meyer was a puck-moving defenseman who collected 17 goals, 55 points and 288 penalty minutes during four seasons on Commonwealth Avenue, helping the Terriers reach three NCAA tournaments. In the 2002-03 season, he was named an NCAA East First-Team All-American and All-Hockey East first-team player.
Signed by the Philadelphia Flyers as an undrafted free agent on May 21, 2003, he became a key player for the Phantoms, their American Hockey League affiliate, helping them win the Calder Cup in the 2004-05 season. He played 59 games for the Phantoms during that championship season, recording six goals and nine assists for 15 points, with 71 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he added three goals and nine assists, along with 34 penalty minutes in 21 games.
On Dec. 16, 2006 he was traded along with a conditional third-round draft pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for Alexei Zhitnik.
During a professional career that spanned nine seasons, Meyer played in 281 NHL games with the Flyers, the Islanders, the Phoenix Coyotes and the Atlanta Thrashers. He scored 20 goals and added 53 assists for 73 points.
He also registered 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 137 career AHL games with the Phantoms and San Antonio Rampage. In his fi nal pro season in 2011-12, he scored three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 31 games for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elite League before retiring as a player in August 2012.
Meyer also represented the United States in international competitions on several occasions, skating with the 1999 U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team, the 2001 U.S. National Junior Team, the 2006 U.S. Men’s National Team, and the 2011 U.S. Men’s Select Team.
After retiring as a player, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, and currently coaches the East Coast Wizards of the Eastern Hockey League.
Born in Toronto, Ken will long be remembered for becoming the first Canadian recruited to play for the UNH Hockey team. His UNH career was from 1958 to 1962. He captained the Wildcats his senior season and still holds the UNH record for goals in a game with 6. He served as the President of the Wildcat Athletics Council from 2001-2003.
New Hampshire has been Ken’s home since college. He taught and coached at Concord High for two years.
Ken was the founder and president of the Granite State Hockey League. He played forward for the Concord Shamrocks, Concord Coachmen, and the Eastern Olympics. He later played in the Capital City Hockey League for 12 years. Ken still competes in the Laconia Legends of Hockey League.
Ken is also highly regarded for his officiating. He became a member of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association in 1962 and he wore the stripes until he retired in 1991. He officiated nine NH High School State Championships, two NCAA Division II Championships, several other ECAC Tournaments and the Beanpot Tournament.
Ken is a member of the UNH Hall of Fame, the Capital City Hockey League Hall of Fame and the Lakes Region Legends Hall of Fame.
A state champion at Concord High School playing with his big sister, future U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tara Mounsey, Mick went on to become one of the best defensemen in University of New Hampshire history. He
played four years for the Wildcats from 2000-04, winning two Hockey East championships and helping the team reach two Frozen Fours.
As a freshman defenseman at Concord, he scored 13 goals – including the game-winner in the Division 1 championship game against Bishop Guertin – and had 31 assists for a team that finished the year undefeated. He was the runner-up for Division 1 Player of the Year, finishing only behind sister Tara, who was a senior.
Declining an offer to go to Michigan and play for the U.S. National Team Development Program, Mounsey moved on to Avon Old Farms, helping that team win a New England prep school championship.
He was an impact player at UNH from the day he arrived. He played in 37 games as a freshman and finished as the runner-up for Hockey East’s Best Defenseman award. As a sophomore he led the team and Hockey East in plus-minus, as the Wildcats won the first of two straight league championships and advanced to the first of two straight final fours.
Mounsey finished his UNH career with a stellar plus-68 rating. He scored six goals and assisted on 38 others for a career 44 points, but brought much more to the ice than scoring.
“Mick was the ultimate team player,” said former UNH assistant coach David Lassonde. “He understood what he needed to do to bring value to his team, and he performed that role to a ‘T’. Every successful team has glue guys and for us he was exactly that.”
Mounsey’s 157 games played at UNH rank among the most in program history, and he enjoyed a brief career in the ECHL, winning a Kelly Cup with the Idaho Steelheads. After his professional career ended, he settled in Concord and got involved with youth sports including the Concord Youth Hockey Association, serving as its president in 2012.
Please welcome to the Class of 2023, Mick Mounsey as a member of the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame.
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).
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
Johnny Normand is the consummate Berlin, New Hampshire hockey player – long on heart, rich in talent, plenty of accomplishments for his efforts and possessed of a stout reputation as one of the best in the City’s history.
His interest in hockey first began in the cellar of the Normand homestead where a family friend and coach, Don Huot, played ball hockey. John later laced up his skates for the first time at St. Joseph’s School and later became a player on Berlin’s first Pee Wee travel team. The rest is history.
During his four years as a BHS Mountaineer (1970-71 through 1973-74), he accumulated a long list of achievements. Among them are: A State Championship 4-3 overtime win against Hanover (’74) sparked by his game-winning goal just 16 seconds into the overtime; twice nominated Athlete of the Month by the Union Leader newspaper; played on a line that still holds the State schoolboy record for single-season scoring; had a career scoring mark of 86 goals/92 assists; led BHS to a record of 69-30-1 during four years; was team Co-Captain his junior season; and Captain and MVP his senior year.
In the spring of 1974, he began play with the Berlin Junior Maroons, joining the team for its final 17 games in which he scored 23 goals and 16 assists. The Maroons won the league title. His next two seasons for the Maroons brought more successes. He twice led the New England Junior Hockey League in scoring (42 G/59 A in 45 games) (79 G/75 A in 48 games) and twice was selected to the US Junior All-America team, marking the first time one player was selected twice. He was named Athlete of the Month by the Union Leader in 1975, and again in 1976, this time by the widest-ever voting margin in the Award’s 16-year history.
His career at the University of New Hampshire (1976-1980) brought more successes. John played in 102 games scoring 29 goals while assisting on 34 more for 63 points. UNH was an ECAC Runner-up in 1977, and the ECAC Champion in 1979. Twice, too, UNH was an NCAA Frozen Four finalist. His senior year, he was voted both the Unsung Hero Award and the Warren Brown Memorial Award as the Top Defensive forward.
His post-college play was with the Concord Budmen (1980-84), and in 1981 Concord beat Berlin for the New England Hockey League title. In his four years with the club, the team record was 61-26-3.
For 23 years, he has worked with youth hockey youngsters in Concord, Exeter, Dover and with the Seacoast Spartans, which won State and Regional bantam and midget titles.
Recently, John completed his 5th season as Assistant Coach at Winnicunnet High School in Hampton. Also, he has patented a dry-land training stick and is currently negotiating with several companies. He views this invention as potentially his “greatest contribution to the sport.”
John M. Normand – Class of 2007
Please welcome John Normand
Hubie grew up playing pond hockey and on the Dorr’s Pond rink in Manchester, NH when no organized hockey existed in the area.
He played for UNH in 1952-1953 on natural outdoor ice when the players were known as “The Outsiders”.
In the late 1950’s, Hubie helped organize and played for the “Manchester Beavers” who played other teams on natural ice surfaces in NH and northern Massachusetts.
Hubie played for the Manchester Tam-O-Shanters through the 1960’s after the JFK Memorial Coliseum was built in Manchester.
In the early 1960’s, Hubie worked with other founders to form the Manchester Regional Youth Hockey Association (MRYHA).
During 1967-1968, Manchester Memorial High School formed their first hockey team and Hubie was named head coach. Hubie continued as head coach for over 16 years and in 1978 his team won the State High School Hockey Championship-the first for the City of Manchester.
Hubie has also been awarded the “NH Sportswriters Achievement Award”, voted “Coach of the Year” by sportswriters and sportscasters, received the Union Leader-Walter Smith Coaches award and he has been inducted into the “Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame:”.
Everett was, along with his fellow teammate Myles Lane, one of the greatest players to come out of Dartmouth during the 1920’s. He played his first hockey for Colby Academy in 1922, serving as captain of that team as well. Later he amazed fans with his stick handling ability, speed, and hard shot as a member of Dartmouth teams from 1922-1926.
Everett was All-College in his sophomore and junior years at Dartmouth, as selected by the Boston Transcript, and was named by the New York Herald Tribune to one of the earliest All-American Teams. A writer of that time said of him: “He could skate, and he could shoot, and he had the native intelligence -all the ingredients a player needs for greatness. He was hardly of the ruffian variety, but he knew how to body check and did so with authority.”
After graduation Everett declined offers from the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs to enter the insurance business. However, he continued in hockey with the University Club of Boston, playing with another United States Hockey Hall of Famer George Owens. While skating with the University Club against Princeton he even recorded six goals.
Named to the 1928 Olympic team, Everett never made the trip to Switzerland due to a lack of funding. Everett played with the 1932 United States Olympic Team which finished second to Canada at Lake Placid, NY. In the Olympic tournament the United States tied Canada 2-2 in the first game and lost the second, 2-1. The former Big Green skater scored two of the three American goals in the two games on the way to the Silver Medal. Everett was the fourth member of the 1932 Olympic Team to be enshrined in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Ding Palmer, John Chase, and John Garrison have already been accorded the honor.
Everett, who later had the skating arena named after him in Concord, New Hampshire, went on to become the Chairman of the Board of Morrill and Everett, Insurance Inc. -the same firm that he originally joined after leaving graduating from Dartmouth.
He was was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.
A British Columbia native, the late Wayne Pecknold made his mark in New Hampshire with the Concord Eastern Olympics. In seven seasons between 1967-74, he put up 57 goals and 181 assists for 238 points, the only defenseman among the team’s all-time top 10 in scoring.
Born in Victoria, B.C., Pecknold was a standout in several sports before settling on hockey. At the age of 13, he led his Victoria bantam club to a provincial championship in lacrosse. He won a juvenile football scoring title with 48 points in five games and was a main cog on his high school’s basketball team.
In hockey, after leading the Juvenile Canucks to the Pacific Coast League title, Pecknold joined the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Junior League. His play with the Mintos earned him an athletic scholarship to Michigan State in 1959, though he was later ruled ineligible because he had signed an ‘A’ form with Prince Albert.
He became an honor student at Michigan State, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in 1963. He’d go on to earn a Master’s and Ph.D in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and remained at MIT as a professor of civil engineering.
He joined the Concord Eastern Olympics in 1967 and played with them through 1973-74, serving as captain over that entire period. Often times he would coach the team during practices and, at times, in games in Pat Eagan’s absence.
“Wayne Pecknold was easily the most talented, the most efficient, the most unselfish, the smartest and the most complete defenseman with whom I had the great good fortune to have been paired with while playing for the Concord Eastern Olympics,” said teammate and Legends of Hockey Hall of Famer Bruce Parker. “Wayne was skilled both offensively and defensively. He possessed a great comprehension of the game and utilized that understanding to play with a special ability to anticipate where teammates, as well as opponents, were about to be and about to do.”
He finished his career playing for the Concord Budmen. He also coached youth hockey in Manchester, where his players included his son, Rand, a Legends Hall of Famer and now the successful coach at Quinnipiac; along with Jeff Serowik and Kyle McDonough.
Pecknold passed away in 2000 at the age of 60 after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
Deron Quint, a Durham native, grew up playing for the Oyster River Youth Hockey Association and then at age 8, the Lowell Jr. Chiefs of the Metro Boston Hockey League and forged a professional career that spanned more than 20 years, including stints with six NHL teams.
After prepping at Cardigan Mountain School and Tabor Academy, the defenseman was drafted 30th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 1994. As a rookie in 1995-96, he tied an NHL record by scoring two goals in a four-second span. Quint remained with the Jets — who would become the Phoenix Coyotes — until March 7, 2000 when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Later that year he’d be traded again, to the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets.
Including a second stint with the Coyotes, Quint played in 463 NHL games, also with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders. He registered 46 goals and 97 assists for 143 points, and 166 penalty minutes. He holds the distinction of being the last active player to play for the original Winnipeg Jets.
During the NHL lockout, which resulted in the 2004-05 season being canceled, he signed a contract to play for Bolzano HC in Italy. That would begin a 13-season odyssey that would see him play for eight different teams in Europe and establish himself as a star in the Kontinental Hockey League.
In 2005, he joined Eisbaren Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany, a team he would lead to three league championships in four seasons. After signing in the offseason with the New York Islanders, and helping them make the playoffs, he returned to Eisbaren for the 2007-08 season, led them to another league championship and was named the DEL Defenseman of the Year. The next year, he led all league defenseman in scoring, was named an All-Star and set a franchise record by playing in 237 consecutive games.
Quint spent the next seven seasons on the KHL, first for one season with HC Nizhnekamsk and then with Traktor Chelyabinsk. In the 2010-11 season with Traktor, he set a KHL record for most goals scored by a defenseman in a season, and the next season he was named an All-Star as the team won the league. He would end up playing 416 career games for Traktor (the most by any North American) and collect 75 goals, 114 assists and 189 points. Twice he was named to the KHL All-Star Game and he played his fi nal season with them as captain, as well as the oldest
player in franchise history.
His career in the KHL also included a 2013-14 season split between Moscow Spartak, which was having financial woes, and CSKA Moscow. His last professional season was back in the DEL with reigning champion Munich EHC.
Upon retirement following the 2016-17 season, Deron had played the most career games of any North American in KHL history.
Not only was the late Ted Rice regarded as one of the best players in Concord’s history, he also was one of just a handful of players who played for all three of the city’s top amateur teams – the Concord Hockey Club, the Millville Bruins and Sacred Heart – during the golden era of senior hockey in Concord.
Proclaimed by his teammates as one of the greatest players in the city’s history, Rice displayed his skill and ability on a wide array of New Hampshire amateur teams. He debuted with the Concord Hockey Club in 1931, recruited by, among others, George Harkins.
Following his debut with the original C.H.C., Rice would help organize a new team called the Millville Bruins, who proved a formidable opponent to the established “Sacre Couers.” The Bruins first played Sacred Heart on Feb. 17, 1933 and won, 2-0. Between 1933 and 1937, the Bruins played Sacred Heart six times, winning one, tying one and losing three.
He quickly became a star attraction when the Bruins hit the road. Opposing clubs, like ones in North Conway and Wolfeboro, would feature Rice on their advertising: “Ted Rice and the Millville Bruins will be playing this weekend.”
When the Bruins dissolved, Rice played six seasons for Sacred Heart, from 1937-38 through 1941-42, and again in 1945-46 season. He played defense with an offensive flair. He played in 60 of the 76 games the Hearts played over those years and the team won 45 of those games, losing just 14 and tying one. He scored 22 goals and assisted on another 25, before the assist was awarded as freely as it is today, and also could play forward.
“He was rock solid and could score,” recalled Hall of Famer Red Adams.
During a two-decade playing career that lasted until his retirement in 1943 – through he’d come out of retirement to play one more season in 1945-46 — Rice played on several New Hampshire teams: the White Mountain Storm Kings of Littleton, the North Conway Hockey Club, the Abenaqui Indians of Wolfeboro and the Manchester Hockey Club.
In the early days of his career, he was granted a tryout with the Boston Bruins semipro club team and later was invited to play with the Springfield Indians, the No. 1 farm team of the New York Rangers. He declined this spot due to financial and family responsibilities, continuing to play with the Concord Hockey Club program and, on occasion, Sacred Heart.
Rice was a versatile player, playing goalie on occasion. In 1932, with the Concord Hockey Club, he was between the pipes for a 3-0 shutout of Hampton.
Mention state high school hockey tournaments to any New Hampshire aficionado who bathes his mind with facts and memories, and you’ll hear: “Eric Royal, 1990, Spaulding High.”
Eric was a senior that spring as the state tournament loomed and the team he captained was coming off a ho-hum 10-8 regular season. By a nose, the 8th, and final seed went Spaulding.
Then came Saturday, February 24. And when the Snively Arena Zamboni finally fell silent in Durham, Spaulding was The State Champ-winning it all after four long games.
It didn’t just happen, though, without a story-book lead-in to that final story-book game. Spaulding first eliminated Winnacunnet HS, then #1 seed Concord HS, then Nashua HS, setting up the final against #3 seed Trinity HS. It took double overtime but Spaulding pulled off a 4-3 upset, marking the only time Spaulding High School ever won a state hockey crown while there was but a single Division that included at that time all hockey-playing high schools.
During those four games, Eric, a gifted center, worked some heavy scoring magic: 7 goals in one game; 9 points in one game; 13 goals in the tourney; 21 points in the tourney-all acclaimed then as records The honors followed: – The Manchester Union Leader named him to its All Tournament First Team and hung MVP next to his name – Hockey Night In Boston named him New Hampshire Player of the Year, as well as center on the Northern New England All Star Team (ME-NH-VT), and cited him an All-State Coaches’ Pick – The Boston Globe named him to its New Hampshire All Scholastic First Team – Foster’s Daily Democrat had him a first-pick Dream Team selection. Other accolades and honors went his way, too.
As of today, Eric remains Spaulding High’s all-time career scorer: 90 goals-106 assists-196 points; plus he still owns two season records: most goals-41; most points-78.
John Clausen, his high school coach, hails him as a superlative team player who never wanted the spotlight and made everyone better- “An extremely talented and special guy.”
For Eric, that one magical tournament had several years of youth hockey behind it. While living in Hampton, he played at the Mite and Squirt levels in Rochester; then as a PeeWee for the NH Nighthawks travel team. In 1986, he moved to Rochester and made the natural transition from PeeWee to Bantam and then on to the Spaulding HS varsity, graduating in 1990.
In 1991, he enrolled at Berwick Academy where he played for coach Charlie Holt. That season the team was 17-3. Eric had 41 goals and 40 assists. He also competed that year in the Chicago Showcase as a New Hampshire High School All Star, playing on a championship team that defeated the Massachusetts entry, 4-3. Three of those goals were Royal goals!
At the University of New Hampshire, he played 101 games over four seasons with career totals of 35 goals-61 assists-96 points. He graduated in 1995 and attended the Edmonton Oilers rookie training camp. Ultimately, he played four years in the East Coast Hockey League, first with the Wheeling WV Thunderbirds (later named The Nailers) and then in Florence, SC with the PeeDee Pride. Among his achievements were MVP and All Star selections. He later played one season in Newcastle, England.
Since the 2004-05 season, he has been head coach of Marshwood HS/Traip Academy, a co-op high school in South Berwick, ME. He resides in Berwick, ME with his wife Robin and their two daughters Sophia and Grace. He is employed by Formax office equipment in Dover.
His hockey career began in grammar school where he starred on the Angel Guardian team and won two Parks and Recreation League titles in 1948 and 1949. Dick played defense on the Notre Dame’ varsity team during four seasons from 1949 through 1953. Notre Dame won four state championships during his tenure and Dick also participated in four New England High School Championship Tournaments held in Providence, RI.
From 1953 to 1967, Dick played fourteen consecutive years as a defenseman for the Berlin Maroons, he was a key defenseman and instrumental on the teams in 1954 and 1967, that won two New England Championships and two Senior Amateur Hockey Association’s United States National Championships.
After his playing career ended in 1967, Dick continued his involvement in ice hockey as a registered referee with the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association and the United States Amateur Hockey Association from 1967 to 1973. Dick refereed games throughout New England at the senior amateur, collegiate and high school levels.
In 2000 because of his playing abilities in High School Hockey, Dick received the honor of being given honorable mention on the All New Hampshire Millennium Team as a defenseman.
Those four years that Matt Robbins skated for Nashua High School were marked, emphatically so, by a gaggle of wins: 64, to be exact-against just 16 losses and three ties.
There were back-to-back state hockey championships, too-the first in his freshman year of 1985, and then again in 1986. Plus, there was a 33-game win streak fashioned over three seasons.
That ’85 hockey championship was the very first in Nashua High School’s long and distinguished athletic history. And ironically, all three of the team’s tournament wins that March were by 3-2 margins.
The championship of ’86 was doubly special, culminating the hockey program’s first undefeated season, 21-0, to go along with the back-to-back title sequence.
There also was a near-miss title during that time period. It came in Durham in March of 1988 when Nashua lost an overtime heartbreaker in the final round, 5-4, to Trinity High School of Manchester.
Matt’s coach, Bill Batte, now retired from high school hockey, well remembers how his gifted forward made good things happen on the ice.
“During those four years, I watched him do phenomenal things with a hockey stick,” he says. “And people came out just to watch him.”
In Matt’s senior year of 1988, he was paid a high compliment by Manchester Memorial coach, Bernie Dudley. Right after a 3-2 double-overtime state tournament loss to Nashua, the opposing coach saluted Matt as “Mister Everything.”
And throughout that season he was, indeed, Mister Everything, finishing with 38 goals and 37 assists, scoring at least once in each of the 21 games that Nashua played.
And, too, 1988 marked the fourth consecutive year Matt was named an All State forward.
Although selected by the New York Islanders in the 9th round of the 1989 NHL entry draft (overall 170th), Matt opted to enroll at the University of Lowell.
After skating in just 14 college games and scoring a pair of goals with eight assists, he decided to take advantage of his draft opportunity and he turned pro.
Ultimately, he played five seasons in the East Coast Hockey League.
To start the 1992-93 season, he reported to the Birmingham Bulls. However, after just a few games, he was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania wearing the uniform of the famed Chiefs.
In 1993, he again changed teams, signing on with the Charlotte Checkers, later making a brief nine-game stopover with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League.
In five ECHL seasons, including his four with the Checkers, he played 314 games, scoring 137 goals and 269 assists.
His best ECHL scoring season was 1993-94 when he had 33 goals and 56 assists in 53 games.
Matt finished his career in Finland after the 1997-98 season, having played 44 games with the Karpat team. He posted a 50-point season, with 21 goals and 29 assists.
Matt today lives in Merrimack with his wife, Kathy, and their daughter, Kelly, and son, Kyle.
He is part owner of JDM Pharmaceutical Water Systems in Nashua, a company started in 1986 by his dad.
Interestingly, Matt’s long-time friend and high school teammate, Jacque “Jack” Rodrigue-also one of today’s NH Legends of Hockey inductees-is employed by JDM Pharmaceutical Water Systems.
Rich Ryerson stood out at St. Paul’s School before moving on to Dartmouth College and helping the Big Green reach the Frozen Four in back-to-back seasons.
Growing up in Concord, Ryerson left his mark at St. Paul’s, competing on the varsity team for four seasons. For his last three seasons, his coach was Legends of Hockey Hall of Famer (Class of 2006) Bill Matthews, who took over the program in the 1973-74 season and called Ryerson one of the fi nest players he ever coached.
“Rich had a burning desire to win and (was) always unselfish,” said Matthews. “He helped, along with several other Concord-area players, to get St. Paul’s hockey back to a place of respect in New England hockey. I’m honestly surprised he had anything left in the tank for college hockey, as I had him on the ice all the time – 6-on-6, man down, power play.”
After a freshman season that saw St. Paul’s go 11-2, Ryerson helped the team finish second in the Northern Division as a sophomore. In his junior year, he scored 38 points and the team reached the Southern Division championship game, losing to Thayer, 5-2.
As a senior, he served as co-captain and received the Gordon Medal at the end of the year for being the school’s best all-around athlete.
After that it was on to Dartmouth, where he would end up skating in 111 games, including at least 25 in each of his four seasons.
He burst onto the college scene by scoring 11 goals and adding seven assists as a freshman. In his sophomore year, he added another eight goals to his total and finished with 10 points.
In his junior and senior seasons, he was a key part of some superb teams that featured fellow Class of 2018 Legends Hall of Famer Bob Gaudet in goal. Ryerson, who primarily skated on the wing, was known as a player who could be relied upon to perform in all situations.
As a junior, he was part of a Dartmouth team that reached the Frozen Four in Detroit, where it lost to North Dakota, 4-2, at the Olympia Stadium. Ryerson assisted on a goal in a 7-3 win over UNH in the third-place game.
The next year, in the ECAC Hockey semifinal game against Clarkson in the old Boston Garden, he scored two goals to propel Dartmouth to a win and a trip to the championship against Cornell. The Big Green also returned to the Frozen Four in Providence, R.I., where they fell to North Dakota again, 4-1. Ryerson’s last college point was an assist in the third-place game against Cornell.
He finished his Dartmouth career with 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points. He is currently the associate director of admissions at Kimball Union Academy.
By the time he got to the end of his four years as a starting defenseman in the Nashua High School lineup, Jack was among the handful of players who easily were rated as the best in the state.
Among the many accolades he gathered as a senior was high recognition from Hockey Night in Boston as New Hampshire Player Of The Year. He also, for the third straight season, was named an All State Defenseman.
In later years, he would be selected as a defenseman on the New Hampshire Millennium Team.
For those years prior to his 1989 graduation, the Nashua High School hockey program had developed into an annual threat to win it all.
And in his freshman season of 1985-86, Jack and Company did just that: they won the state title, beating Berlin High School, 3-2, in Durham.
That win marked the second consecutive year that Nashua earned itself the hockey banner that proclaims State Champion.
Nashua that season went 21-0, and was the only undefeated hockey team in the state. The team ultimately ran up a 33-game win streak. Jack, though, because the streak started when he was in the 8th grade, was on the ice for just 25 of those consecutive wins.
In his four-year tenure, Nashua had a regular-season record of 56 wins- 10 losses-2 ties; and in 11 state tournament games the team posted an 8-3 record.
All of it was achieved with strong defensive work and Jack was a major contributor.
After graduation, he went off to play two seasons with the North Iowa Huskies of the US Junior Hockey League and twice was named an All Star. In 55 games, he produced 33 goals and 58 assists.
He then accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Maine. In his sophomore year, UMaine won the NCAA title, defeating Lake Superior, 4-3, in the final round.
In his senior year, UMaine lost in the NCAA final, 5-3, to Boston University.
He played 59 games in three college seasons, scoring 13 goals and 35 assists. He graduated in 1995 and moved on to the professional ranks.
Over his nine seasons as a pro, Jack played with 10 teams in eight leagues around the country: the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League; the Richmond Renegades, Dayton Bombers and Columbus Chill of the East Coast Hockey League; the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League; the Utica Blizzard and Dayton Ice Bandits of the Colonial Hockey League; the Phoenix Mustangs of the West Coast Hockey League; the Odessa , TX Jackalopes, first in the Western Professional Hockey League and later of the Central Hockey League; and the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. He was a four-time All Star with the Odessa Jackalopes.
And what, pray tell, is a Jackalope? Why, a Texas-sized rabbit, of course-with antlers!
Over 521 professional games, including 30 playoff tilts, Jack’s scoring totals were 73 goals and 283 assists. He retired at the conclusion of the 2002-03 season.
As an aside, he also played two seasons (1996-1997) of professional roller hockey.
Jack lives in his hometown of Nashua with his wife, Sandy, and their sons, Jacob and Trevor.
He is employed by JDM Pharmaceutical Water Systems of Nashua, working with his long-time friend and high school teammate, Matt Robbins.
Omer Morin attended Notre Dame High School in the early days of its hockey dynasty in New Hampshire. Starting midway in his freshman year he had an immediate impact scoring nine points. Omer started as a wing and a defenseman in his three years at Notre Dame with the team winning the second, third and fourth New Hampshire Hockey Titles that would go on for another 12 Years. Omer captained the team his junior year and scored a total of 75 points during his high school years. After his junior year, in 1950, Omer decided to join the work force and became a valuable member of the Berlin Senior Maroons. As a young rookie defenseman on the Maroons team, he scored five goals and 2 assists that season playing on the second line and helped the Maroons win their Fourth New England Amateur Hockey Association (NEAHA) championship. Known by hockey officials and sports writers for his crashing body checks and accurate “screaming slap shot,” the stalwart defenseman was an important part of the 1954 Maroons team that won the National AHA Championship in 1954. Omer continued to be a member of the Maroons until 1965. In the 1959/60 season, he was voted on to the NEAHA All-Tournament team and was considered the best all-around player on the ice. Omer was the player/coach for the Maroons in the 1962/63 and 1963/64 seasons, winning the NEAHA Invitational Championship in 1964 compiling a record of 19-19-8 in the two seasons.
The Dream is always alive, out there in the minds of talented youth hockey players everywhere. All of them, one day, want to suit up with a National Hockey League team, take a regular shift and score goals-lots of goals.
What set Jeff Serowik apart from his young teammates, though, is that he made his dream come true, eventually suiting up with three NHL teams in the cities of Toronto, Boston and Pittsburgh.
It took time and a lot of hard work. His youth hockey years-12 to be exact-were spent in Manchester with the acclaimed Flames organization. He was a defenseman and one of the teams he played on was a Junior National Champion.
As a high school freshman and sophomore, he played at Manchester West and then in the fall of 1983, he left in favor of attending Lawrence Academy for his final two years.
In his senior year there, he was hockey captain. Also he earned All Independent School League (ISL) honors in hockey and baseball in his junior and senior years.
In June of 1985, following his junior year, he was drafted in the 5th round-an 85th selection overall-by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Dream was taking shape.
Jeff elected, though, to enroll at Providence College where he played four years. In 1990, his senior season, he was named an All-Hockey East defenseman. By the time it was over, he had played 136 collegiate games and scored 65 career points.
He graduated from Providence in 1990 with a degree in finance and then signed on with the Maple Leafs, ultimately playing 10 years of professional hockey, first with teams in the International Hockey League and American Hockey League, then in the NHL.
In 1994, while in the AHL, he won the Eddie Shore Award for Best Defenseman and still holds the AHL record for most goals in a season by a defenseman with 28.
His playing career ended prematurely during the 1998-99 season while with the Penguins. He sustained a head injury during a regular shift and later retired.
Today, Jeff is owner of Pro Ambitions Hockey, Inc.-the official camp of Hockey East and the largest hockey camp in North America, annually hosting more than 4000 players.
Jeff and his wife Christine also operate Sports Saves Souls, a charity for former hockey players who have fallen on hard times.
They reside in Dover, MA with their children Alexa, Pia and Jeff.
The arc of Julie Sasner’s career meant that she was already retired as a player and in the coaching ranks when the U.S. team was selected for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, the first that would award a gold medal in women’s hockey.
But that doesn’t take away from a stellar career at both levels – as a standout at Harvard and on the U.S. women’s national team, and behind the bench, where she built programs from the ground up at Cornell and Wisconsin, and served an Olympic stint of her own as an assistant coach in Salt Lake City in 2002.
The Durham native, who grew up playing with her older brother and his friends on the pond next to their home on Bagdad Road, and later for the Oyster River Youth Association, is the fourth woman to be inducted into the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame as a player.
“To follow (Olympians) Katie King and Tara Mounsey and Tricia Dunn-Luoma – the women in there are pretty accomplished women,” said Sasner. “It’s nice that they’re going to reach back even farther.” Sasner never had an official affiliation with UNH, her backyard school, but its influence was a heavy one.
Under Coach Russ McCurdy, UNH was a pioneer program in women’s hockey in the late 1970s, and is still the all-time winningest program. Sasner and her ORYA teammates would make the short walk to watch these top players practice and play.
“I think it was a pretty unique situation, that I got to look up to female hockey players,” said Sasner. “We got to go to all the games. It was great when they played Concordia and Providence and Northeastern and Colby. We even got the UNH players to tape our sticks.”
While playing club hockey, Sasner was also an accomplished athlete in other sports at Oyster River High School, captaining the soccer team twice, the basketball team three times and the tennis team twice. She was the school’s first female 1,000-point scorer in basketball and was a state 18-and-under singles champion in tennis.
“She could have played collegiately in any of the sports she played and was the best player on nearly ever team she was on,” said former Oyster River athletic director Dave Nichols.
At Harvard, Sasner was a four-time All Ivy League selection, and Rookie of the Year as a freshman. She left as the program’s all-time scoring leader (78 goals, 133 points) and was later named to the first U.S. women’s national team.
After five years coaching a fledgling Cornell program she was hired to start a program at Wisconsin. Two years later, USA Hockey picked her as an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s national team and she was part of the staff in Salt Lake City that reached the gold-medal game, falling to Canada and settling for silver.
“I’m not one for pomp and circumstance,” she said, but to be able to take part in something way bigger than my little self was so special.”
It’s a short list of players from New Hampshire who can claim a two-decade career playing professional hockey, and Mark Stuckey is at the top of that list.
The Concord native, who grew up on the campus of St. Paul’s School, where his father, Dan Stuckey ’09, was a teacher and hockey coach, went on to start at Hotchkiss School and then Princeton. At Princeton, he set a new freshman scoring record in 1971-72 and was presented with the team’s Hobey Baker Trophy for his contributions in play, sportsmanship and influence. He led the Tigers in goal scoring as a senior.
Stuckey attended the Eastern tryouts for the U.S. Olympic Team in the spring of 1975. The head coach was the late Bob Johnson and Stuckey was one of the last players cut.
From there, his career took him to Europe, where he signed his first professional contract for Renon of the Italian “A” League, playing from 1975-76 through 1979-80, twice leading the league in scoring. Another season, he played solely on defense and ended the season with the second-most goals in the league.
“That year,” he said, “I scored 50 goals playing defense the whole year, living out my Bobby Orr fantasies.”
In 1980-81 he crossed into Switzerland, playing for Dubendorf for three years in the Swiss “B” League, leading the league in goals the first year. He played the next two seasons in the Italian “A” League for Merano and the following as a player-coach for Renon, helping that team win the “B” championship and earn its spot back in the “A” League.
He’d play six more seasons in Italy, five with Hockey Club Fassa and his final one with Renon. Having received his Italian citizenship, he was chosen and played for the Italian National Team.
“You don’t play professionally for nearly 20 years overseas without being real good,” said Dana Barbin ’11, whose own career took him to Europe in the 1980s. “Anybody I ever ran into overseas, when Mark’s named was mentioned, they always commented what a great player he was.”
Undersized but speedy, Stuckey was a scorer wherever he played, at times finishing with more goals than former and future NHL players who were in his league, like Mark Pavelich, Jacques Lemaire and Jari Kurri.
“He was an outstanding skater-fast, strong with great stick skills and very determined,” said Barbin. “His slap shot was outstanding and was renowned for his sweep-check, something you no longer see in hockey.”
After a 10-year stint coaching professionally in Italy and Germany, Stuckey turned to another sport – golf, which he’s been teaching for 15 years.
When goalies at Phillips Exeter Academy get their instruction, they know they’re being taught by a guy who’s seen first-hand what they’re doing – and has done it well.
Evans went from a walk-on to a starting goalie during his days at the University of New Hampshire in the 1970s, playing for coach Charlie Holt and with teammates like John Fontas, Bruce Crowder, Bobby Miller, Frank Roy, Cecil Luckern, John Corriveau, Cap Raeder, Bob Blood and Rod Langway.
During his UNH days he played a total of 53 regular-season games. As a senior, he made a program-record 808 saves (since topped by Greg Moffet); received the Roger LeClerc Award, which is voted by the players for the team’s MVP; was named Most Improved Player. Evans is believed to be the only player in program history to go from a walk-on to team MVP by the time his career was finished.
After graduation, he went on to play for the Cape Cod/New Hampshire Freedoms and Manchester Blackhawks of the NEHL, and the Erie Blades and Richmond Rifles of the EHL.
As a professional, he was invited to three preseason NHL training camps – the Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. He eventually moved on to Europe, playing for Club HieloJaca for the Spanish National League as one of the two allowed imports for the team during the 1982-83 season.
Growing up in Freedom, N.H., and Cape Cod, and traveling a lot with his father serving in the Air Force, Evans began playing hockey at a young age, following in the footsteps of his older brother and father. He enrolled at Brewster Academy to play for legendary coach Pop Whalen, and followed Whalen to Berwick Academy when Brewster cut hockey from its athletic budget.
He was the first-string goalie for three years, leading his team to a Northeast Junior A championship. Among his teammates was future Olympic hero Mike Eruzione, who was attending for a postgraduate year.
For the past 15 years, Evans has been the goalie coach at Phillips Exeter Academy, helping the program win a New England championship in 1999. All three of his children played hockey at Exeter High School and he has also devoted time to coaching youth hockey with New Hampshire East.
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.
A Manchester native, Lauren Slebodnick staked her claim as one of the best goalies in Cornell women’s hockey history, as well as one of the best netminders to come out of New Hampshire.
Slebodnick grew up in Manchester and played youth hockey for the Manchester Youth Hockey Association, the NH Junior Bruins, the NH Wildcats and NH Top Gun, before graduating to the East Coast Wizards and Cushing Academy.
At Cushing, which she attended from 2006 until 2010, she collected a number of awards and was recruited by Cornell, one of the top programs in Division 1 women’s hockey.
In her first two years at Cornell she shared the goalie duties, playing 16 and 17 games, respectively, and posting save percentages of .942 and .924. Both seasons the Big Red reached the Frozen Four, losing in the national semifinals in those years to Boston College and Minnesota, respectively.
As a junior, she set the program’s single-season record for wins (24) and helped the Big Red reach the eight-team NCAA tournament, something the team achieved all four years she was there. In both her junior and senior seasons Cornell dropped one-goal contests to Mercyhurst in the tournament quarterfinals.
She received a number of individual honors. As a junior, she was named to the All-ECAC Hockey third team and the All-Ivy League second team. As a senior, she earned Ivy League honorable mention honors. She was also a two-time selection to the ECAC All-Academic team.
Slebodnick also represented her country in international play, playing on the U-18 Women’s National Team in 2009 and the U-22 Women’s National Team in 2013. She was an alternate for the U.S. Women’s Team that competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
From 2008-13 she was invited to attend the Warren Strelow National Goaltending Camp overseen by USA Hockey.
After Cornell, she played two seasons professionally with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League, including the league’s inaugural season in 2015-16. She helped the Pride win the Isobel Cup during that first season.
She serves as the head goaltending coach for the new Division 3 women’s program at Western New England University, and served as the assistant director of women’s development for Puckstoppers Goaltending in Exeter.
She has also served as the head goaltending coach for the East Coast Wizards and Boston Shamrocks.
Elmo Theriault played hockey for six years for the Berlin Maroons between 1940 and 1951, along with serving three and half years in the military during WWII. During his six years of playing defense, the Maroons won four New England Amateur Hockey Association Championships and ranked third in the nation in 1948.
Elmo scored one of the most memorable goals in the history of the Berlin Maroons when, with one second remaining in overtime, on a pass from Barney Laroche, his famous shot hit the back
of the net to win the New England Amateur Hockey Association Championship in 1949. Again, in March 1951, as writers described it, “his patented long shot does it as the Berlin Maroons defeat New Haven” for the right to meet Dedham and defeated them for the New England Amateur Hockey Association’s Championship.
In 1949, at the New England AHA tournament, the officials and writers chose Elmo as the leading defenseman for the tournament’s first team. If you mentioned the name “Elmo” to any
hockey enthusiast from the 40’s and 50’s in New Hampshire, you would hear the following:
He had the best shot in hockey
He scored more goals from the point with that shot than any other defenseman.
He was one of the toughest defensemen, backed down from nobody and seldom lost while
engaging in battle.
Growing up in Londonderry with four brothers and sisters, the rule in Kathleen Twomey’s home was that the kids could play on no more than one travel team a year.
So when she wasn’t on a travel hockey squad, which was always her first choice, Twomey played every sport she could at Trinity High School in Manchester, enjoying plenty of success. She won state championships in soccer and basketball, and also ran track and cross-country.
It wasn’t until she arrived at St. Anselm College that she turned all her attention to hockey. By the time she wrapped up her four-year career there, she held school records for goals (75) and points (124).
“Going from playing five sports in high school to just focusing on hockey was when I grew the most,” she said.
She had high hopes for her college career, but to graduate as the program’s all-time scoring leader wasn’t something she was sure she’d ever accomplish.
“I think everyone dreams of that,” she said, “but I didn’t even know how much playing time I’d get. I spent a lot of time practicing by myself.”
Twomey put on a pair of skates for the first time at the age of 2, joining her older brothers in the family’s backyard rink. She played youth hockey with the Manchester Regional Youth Hockey Association, Manchester Flames, Chelmsford (Mass.) Lions and the Hooksett-based Lady Monarchs. When she was in middle school, her Chelmsford team won a national championship.
After scoring 24 goals and 33 points in 27 games as a freshman, she had her most productive year as a sophomore, putting up 25-17-42 totals as the Hawks won the ECAC Open championship; in the title game against Sacred Heart she scored two goals and set up another in a 6-3 win. “One reason I loved hockey so much at St. A’s was that the girls I played with were awesome,” she said. “We played so hard and had a great time.” Twomey was named ECAC East Rookie of the Year and second-team All-Conference as a freshman in 2005-06, and ECAC East Player of the Year the next season.
Twomey counts Lenny Rowe, who coached her with the Chelmsford Lions, and former St. Anselm coach Dave Flint as her biggest influences. As a high school senior, she was named MVP of the annual Make-A-Wish game pitting the best girls from New Hampshire against those from Vermont.
After college Twomey got into coaching herself, serving as co-coach for the Trinity/Bishop Brady girls club team for a season and the Hudson-based Northern Lady Cyclones for another two.
Not even the polio he was diagnosed with at the age of 12 could slow down the late Dicky Valliere.
He helped Notre Dame High School in Berlin win four straight New Hampshire championships between 1953 and ’57, and co-captained the 1957 team that won the New England title.
He’d go on to play 10 seasons with the Berlin Maroons, finishing his tenure with more than 400 points. The Maroons won two New England amateur championships and two national amateur championships during that time.
For Valliere, it all began on a pond at the end of Devens Street in Berlin known as “The Frog Pond.” Growing up in modest means, he didn’t own a new pair of skates until one was purchased for him by the Rev. Armand Provost, the athletic director at Notre Dame, during his freshman year of high school.
At Notre Dame, which won the first 16 New Hampshire state championships after the NHIAA began recognizing a champion in 1947, he scored just three goals as a freshman, but added 24, 25 and 37 his next three years. He graduated with an astounding 89 goals and 96 assists for 185 points.
Notre Dame won the 1957 state title by acclamation. It went on to win the New England tournament, beating Hamden, Conn., in the championship game, 7-0. Valliere, with three goals and three assists in the tournament, was named to the All-Tournament team.
He teamed with DeDe Villeneuve at Notre Dame ((the two scored a combined 97 goals during their senior year) and again with the Maroons, whom he’d joined for the 1959-60 season after being honorably discharged from the military.
In ten seasons with the Maroons, Valliere scored 228 goals and added 201 assists for 429 points. He recorded double-digit goals and assists every season he played. Two times his teams won New England Amateur Hockey Association championships and twice they won National AHA championships.
Valliere was employed by Converse Rubber Company in Berlin until it closed in the late 1970s. He them moved to their plant in Lumberton, N.C., where he lived for the remainder of his life, passing away in 1998.
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 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.
Leo Vaillancourt grew up during the time when the young sport of ice hockey was growing rapidly in Berlin. In 1920 the local paper mill organized a company hockey league, and nearly a dozen social clubs sponsored their own teams. Leo played for the Joliette Hockey Club in the mid-1930s. After high school graduation, Vaillancourt played for the Berlin Hockey Club that became the Berlin Maroons in January 1937. Leo was part of the high scoring “Kid Line” with Hall of Famer Barney LaRoche as his teammate. Soon the Berlin Maroons became a powerhouse winning the 1941 New England AHA Championship with Vaillancourt scoring seven goals in that tournament.
Leo then served in the European Campaign of WWII from 1942 to 1945.
The Maroons resumed playing in 1946/47. In 1947/48, Vaillancourt led them to another New England title as their team captain. The Maroons won a third NE Title in 1949 with Vaillancourt scoring 48 goals and 23 assists that season. Leo was selected to the 1949 New England AHA All-Star Team. He was top scorer the following year with 74 points. In 1951, Captain Vaillancourt led the Maroons to another NE title.
In the 1953/54 season, Leo gave up the uniform and became Coach Vaillancourt. The Maroons became the dominant amateur hockey team in New England winning the National AHA Championship.
Including and following his playing years, Leo Vaillancourt became a member of the National Athletic Amateur Association (NAAA) and the National Intercollegiate Hockey Official Association from 1950 to 1975. In addition, he was a member of the NAAA Evaluation Committee.
He learned how to skate on Long Pond, lacing up the skates for what was a six-mile roundtrip glide.
Red Adams grew up in Concord and fell in love with the game of hockey at the age of five. He played in the youth hockey leagues during the early 30s and later suited up as a forward for the Concord High School Crimson Tide from 1936-39, winning two – albeit unofficial – state championships.
Red took his talents a bit further north for the 1939-40 season, playing for Tilton School. In a memorable game against the Sacred Heart junior team from Concord, Red played the entire 45 minutes, potting a pair of goals and assisting on a third for the winners.
In the fall of 1940, Red enrolled at the University of New Hampshire, where he played freshman hockey and baseball. As a sophomore, Red made varsity, finishing fourth in the scoring race with 19 goals and 25 points for the 4-10-0 Wildcats. UNH’s next highest scorer was Ed Carlson, also of Concord, with eight points. The highlight of the season for Red came when he scored a hat trick against Boston College, the 1942 league champions. During that same season, Red was selected to the All-Tournament team at the Lake Placid tournament.
Said UNH Coach Tony Dougal following the tournament: “He is the most valuable player on this team, and even though he scored more points than any other man on this team, he’s a great team player.”
The subsequent two seasons were difficult for Red and UNH hockey. The ‘Cats played just two games in 1942-43 because the UNH athletic committee tried to abolish the sport before being persuaded otherwise by the student body and players. However, Red still led the team in scoring, potting four goals and five points in those two contests.
A bad lung kept Red away from the school for the next 18 months, however, upon his return there was no hockey played at UNH that season.
Red went on to play for Sacred Heart from 1944-1952. On January 8, 1952, his final year with the team, Red scored a pair of goals in a 19-second span to give the Hearts a 5-3 lead through two periods against the United States Olympic team. But the U.S. wouldn’t be denied, winning 8-6 in front of 600 fans at the old Pleasant Street rink.
Red was also an outstanding pitcher and bowler, playing in the Sunset League at the age of 13 and winning the city bowling championship in 1961 at the age of 40.
Red continued playing hockey in the industrial leagues in both Concord and Manchester until the age of 53 when he finally decided it was time to hang up his skates.
As with many youngsters of the day, Frankie Roy began skating in a back yard skating rink made available to him by a neighbor. It was not long before he began playing ice hockey. He played a year for the Berlin Recreational League, and for the Guardian Angel School hockey team which was part of a parochial elementary school hockey league in Berlin. Then, under the watchful eye of Hall of Fame Coach Huskie Poirier, he honed his skills in the Berlin Youth Hockey Program. Being a talented player, Roy played for the Berlin Junior Maroons of the New England Junior League (NEJL) in 1974 and 1975. In 1975 he was top scorer, New England MVP, and led the Berlin Junior Maroons to the NEJL New England Championship, winning that tournament. Frank entered the University of New Hampshire in 1975 and led all UNH freshmen in scoring in 1976. In his senior season, UNH won its first ECAC championship in its history. He was voted UNH’s unsung hero that year. In 1979 Frank was selected to participate in the Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs where the 1980 Olympic Gold Hockey team was chosen. In that same year he signed a player contract with the New York Rangers and played for the Richmond Rifles of the ECHL from 1980 to 1981. He was tied for eighth on the all-time scoring list at UNH and was inducted into the UNH Hall of Fame in 1993.
He was-and still is-known throughout New Hampshire’s North Country as “Fat,” a nickname hung on him during his middle high school years by revered sportswriter, the late Leo Cloutier.
“I was a little chunky back then,” “Fat” admits today.
His weight, though, never interfered with his skills as a goaltender. He was, in fact, exceptional with above-average puck-stopping abilities. For those lucky enough to have seen him play for Berlin High School and then for the Berlin Maroons, all of the memories remain robust.
“Fat’s” interest in the position was tweaked at age 13 or so, when he and his friends played pick-up games out on the frozen river. “I was very competitive,” he says. “I hated losing, and we were that day, by a lot of goals. So, I swapped positions and put on the pads. When we were finished playing, everyone said that I should be the goalie. So, I was.”
Back in the season of 1937-38, the Berlin High School hockey program, after several years in deep freeze, was resurrected, much to the liking of students and adults throughout the city.
“Fat,” then a sophomore, eagerly dragged his pads and gloves out of the closet and earned himself the top goaltending job.
By the time he was a senior that being the 1939-40 season he enjoyed a high reputation that was enhanced by his four shutouts and the team’s 11 wins.
Berlin went on to win the 1940 state hockey title. (Note: The title is considered unofficial due to the fact that the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association was not formed until after the 1945- 46 season.
Also that season, “Fat” added All State Goalie to his personal credentials. He graduated that June.
In 1996, Berlin High School honored him with induction into its Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to hockey, he had played varsity football and baseball, and was voted as Berlin High School’s Best Athlete of the 1930- 40 Decade.
When the 1940-41 season rolled around, the Berlin Maroons were in the market for a dependable goaltender, and “Fat,” then 19, got the job, playing every minute of every game.
When America entered WWII in December of 1941, “Fat” hung up his pads and enlisted in the US Navy, serving three years aboard an anti-submarine bomber in the Pacific. By the time he was discharged in 1944, he had flown 28 missions.
When he returned home, his Maroons teammates eagerly awaited for him to put on the pads. He did and ended up playing for the seven seasons between 1944-45 and 1950-51.
Recently he wrote: “In all of those years, I never missed a game due to injury or illness. I may have missed a few periods, just to give our backup goaltender a chance to play, but never a whole game.”
The Maroons back then were an established force in the national Senior Amateur ranks and won three New England AHA titles while “Fat” was in the net: 1948 – 1949 – 1950.
He also was in the net when the Maroons played in the 1948 National AHA tournament in Toledo, OH, and again in 1949 in the National tournament in New York City.
His outstanding abilities as a netminder factored heavily in those consistent Maroons’ successes during that time.
After “Fat” hung up his pads in 1951, he turned to officiating and established himself a lustrous reputation as a fair, knowledgeable and incisive referee.
For the 1952-62 decade, he regularly worked as a NHIOA official, calling high school and college games, and also as an AHA referee, calling amateur games throughout New England.
Today, in the company of his dear friend, Alice, he splits his time between Ormand, FL and Chateauguay, Quebec. He confesses, though, “that a large part of me is still in Hockey Town USA, in good old Berlin.”
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.
Known as “Mr. Hockey” in Exeter, the late George “Fuzzy” Thurston played amateur hockey until he was 66 years old, and also contributed greatly to the sport as a coach and referee.
Born in 1903, Thurston learned to skate and play hockey on the Exeter River. A strong, hard-hitting defenseman despite his slight build and 5-foot-5 frame, he was a standout player for the Amesbury Maples senior team for decades, several times being honored as “Amateur Defensive Player of the Year” by the Amateur Hockey Association. He also played for the Nashua Hockey Club in 1930-1931. That Nashua team, called the West Pointers, went on to win the New England championship title in Providence R.I., and continued on to New York to become the runner up in the national tournament.
In 1932, after a tryout with the Boston Bruins “Cubs” team, he was invited to be part of a “Boston Olympic Team” that traveled to Europe for a two-month hockey tour that saw the team win 23 of 24 games against national teams across the continent, including Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland and England. One of the games he played in Germany was played in front of future German chancellor Adolf Hitler.
He and his wife returned to New Hampshire for good in the late 1930s and resumed playing for the Amesbury Maples, helping lead the team to a New England amateur title in 1939-40. He would play for the Maples until 1969, playing his last game at the age of 66 at the Phillips Exeter Academy Rinks and getting named game MVP.
He served as the UNH varsity coach for one season in 1939 and began refereeing games in 1953, continuing for many years. Through his refereeing and coaching, he became known as “Mr. Hockey” in Exeter and was good friends with Jim Houston, who started the Exeter Youth Hockey program in 1961.
His family has continued his hockey legacy. Thurston’s sons, Donald and David, his six grandchildren and his two great-grandchildren all played and/or coached in Exeter, with several going on to play the sport in prep school or college.
Thurston passed away in 1987 at the age of 84.
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.
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.
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.
Attended the Canadian School systems where he started playing ice hockey at the age of 5 until he attained the age of 15 years.
Willie then played junior hockey for the Richmond Flyers of Windsor, PQ, where he was a major factor in their winning the championship in 1964.
In the 1964-1965 hockey season, Willie started playing for Manchester’s Alpine Club in the Granite State Hockey League, where in his first game he scored 7 goals. At the conclusion of the ’64-’65 season, Willie won the coveted high scoring title of the Granite State Hockey League.
In 1968, Willie broke a scoring record that had existed since 1948 by scoring 53 goals and 42 assists for a total of 95 points in 38 games.
Willie’s hockey career from 1964 through 1974 encompassed playing for the Alpine Club, Manchester Blackhawks and Manchester Monarchs braking many scoring records and was a fan favorite over that period of time.
Willie was a coach in the Youth Hockey League where his Merrimack Pee Wees won the State Championship in 1972.
Willie “The Barber” continues his 30+ years career as a professional barber.
One of the most prolific goal scorers in small college ice hockey history at St. Anselm College, McDonough captured the small college Hobey Baker award in 1985. McDonough was a three-time ECAC East All-star as well as ECAC player of the year (1983-1986) after a successful high school career at Manchester Memorial High School and New Hampton Prep. Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, McDonough enjoyed a 13-year professional playing career that spanned 955 games, including 195 National Hockey League contests with Los Angeles, the New York Islanders and the San Jose Sharks. Before assuming his current position as Director of Hockey Operations for the Manchester Monarchs (AHL), McDonough recently held the same position for the Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League and served a the assistant coach for the Bears during the 1999-2000 campaign.
A member of state champion Berlin High School teams as a junior and senior, Denis “Ducky” Martin went on to have a distinguished, four-year career at Providence College and a fi ve-year professional career in Europe.
Born in Berlin to parents who immigrated there from Quebec, he began playing youth hockey when he was 7. On an early team, there were two other players named Denis and he received his nickname, since the coach’s wife thought he skated like a duck. He would play on New Hampshire champions as a Squirt, Pee-Wee and Midget.
After helping Berlin High School win a state championship and reach the quarterfinals of the New England tournament as a junior in 1974-75, Martin centered the first line and first power-play unit as a senior, and was named captain and MVP as Berlin won states again and advanced to the New England tournament final. He was given the Richard Wagner Award as the best male student-athlete in the graduating class, and finished his high school career with 63 goals and 73 assists for 136 points.
It was during the New England tournament his senior year that he was scouted by Providence and offered a scholarship to play there. He joined coach Lou Lamoriello’s program in the fall of 1976, was shifted from center to wing and helped the team reach the ECAC tournament, where it lost in the quarterfinals. The following year, the Friars reached the final of that tournament, where they lost to Boston College. In Martin’s junior year, they returned to the tournament, losing in the quarterfinals.
As a senior, Martin enjoyed his fi nest season at Providence. He was the team’s high scorer with 44 points and was named to the East All-Star Team. The Friars went 21-11 and reached the ECAC final, losing to Cornell. Martin finished his college career with 35 goals and 91 points in 130 games, and graduated in the spring of 1980 with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology.
Following graduation, Martin was contacted by a professional team in Dijon, France, and was offered a place on the team and to coach other teams in the area. Playing for five years in the French National B League, at times as a player-coach, he was the high scorer on the team each season, finishing with 317 goals, 249 assists and 566 points in 118 games. Each year, the team lost in the finals of the league playoff tournament.
Martin returned to the United States after his playing career and had a stint coaching at Lebanon High School. He entered the construction field and makes his home in Rye.
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