The UMass Boston Athletics Department welcomed family and friends to a reception in honor of the newly formed women’s ice hockey inaugural home game at the Clark Athletic Center. The reception afforded parents of the players the opportunity to meet staff members of the UMB that will provide the support that student athletes need to compete at a high level, both academically as well as athletically.
Assistant Director of Athletics Pam Samuelson welcomed the parents upon arriving at the reception, which was held in the Creative Room. Parents were given a short run down of the evening’s program, which included an appearance by Chancellor Jo Ann Gora, as well as being introduced to several members of the UMB Athletic department.
Also on hand was first year men’s ice hockey coach Jack Foley, who with former hockey player and assistant coach Mike Bertoni, was on hand to show support for the fledgling team’s first home game. Foley is the former ice hockey coach of Thayer Academy, whose high school hockey program is one of the region’s most successful.
Unfortunately, Athletic Director Charlie Titus was unable to be in attendance. Samuelson explained that Titus, who is also the men’s basketball coach, took his team down to Nantucket for the weekend. She next introduced Gora and went on to thank the Chancellor for her support and commitment to UMass Boston’s Athletics. “Chancellor Gora really cares about athletics and she wants to win.”
Gora expressed her enthusiasm and excitement about the present and future of women’s ice hockey, as well as other UMass Boston women’s sports teams, “We are very excited and we look forward to bringing our women’s program back to the prominence that the university enjoyed in the 1980s. The future looks promising.”
Samuelson reiterated Gora’s statements, expressing her admiration for the coaches and players alike. “I believe that we have some of the best coaching hockey staff, men and women, in the Division III level in the country. I’m thrilled to have them. And as for the players, they not only add to the sport, they add to the university.”
As for one of the newest additions to UMB coaching, Linda Schuler, Samuelson exhibited the collective pride of the Athletic Department for landing the former Olympian. According to Samuelson, Schuler was number one on their list to get the program up and running. “We targeted Schuler for quite a while. Even when obstacles appeared (referring to difficulties with INS), we were not deterred.”
Linda Lundrigan, assistant coach of the team, popped in for a few minutes to speak to the families before heading to the team’s pre-game warmups. Lundrigan praised the team’s work ethic and attitude, two items essential to on-ice success. “They want to be the best that they can be. Our style of play is not laid back; we are going to play in-your-face hockey. They’re a cohesive unit.”
Although the night ended disappointedly in a tough 3-1 loss to Neumann College, the performance by the newest Beacons validated the comments of the evening’s speakers. After the final horn sounded, the crowd gave a sustained round of applause for the effort and good performance.