The Long and Lasting Legend of 17-Year-Old Norm Desaulniers

2021-10-23T18:13:44-04:00October 22nd, 2021|

It’s every sports-minded young person’s dream to hit the home run that wins the game…nail the shot that beats the buzzer…score that sudden death goal. The ultimate thrill, however, as improbable as it might be, would be to someday “play in the bigs.” If you grew up in Rhode Island in the early and mid [...]

Greg Britz – the First Bishop Hendricken Player to reach the National Hockey League

2021-07-07T10:07:50-04:00July 6th, 2021|

Bishop Hendricken’s future Hobey Baker Award winner, David Emma, made it to the NHL in 1993, the same year as Steven King, one of the stars of the Providence Bruins’ Calder Cup run in 1999. But there was another Hawk who made it to the big show well before both and few know his name. [...]

Post-War Hockey at Brown: Wes Moulton’s “Miracle on Ice”

2021-05-10T11:53:01-04:00May 4th, 2021|

Since its historic beginnings in 1898, Brown men’s hockey has endured two dormant periods. The first began in 1906, and play was not resumed until 1926. The second iceless stretch began after the 1938-39 season, when along with wrestling, hockey fell victim to the budget axe at the end of the Great Depression. Fortunately, a [...]

RI’s Hockey Coaches: A Legacy of Stardom and then Paying it Forward

2021-04-07T10:19:36-04:00April 6th, 2021|

Many ex-RI Reds coached at all levels of the game all over the continent after their time in Providence - names like Bessone, Blake, Cook, Flaman, Polano, Reardon, Schmidt, and Sinden, to name just a few. Fortunately, many of those Reds we cheered for settled in Rhode Island and paid the favors forward by coaching [...]

In 1955, LaSalle’s hockey team went “Gaga” meeting Tenley Albright at St George’s rink

2021-04-06T12:15:31-04:00March 20th, 2021|

On Dec. 10th, 1955, it was a jubilee of sorts at St. George’s school in Middletown. The school’s Cabot Memorial Rink was surrounded rows deep with all ages straining for a glimpse of Tenley Albright, perhaps the most famous woman in American sports over the decade. Indeed, two years earlier she became the first American [...]

Miracles: The Miracle on Ice and the One that Came Next

2020-10-12T11:29:18-04:00October 12th, 2020|

Virtually every single American knows the ever-so-famous “Miracle On Ice” story of the 1980 USA ice hockey team during that year’s Winter Olympics, held in Lake Placid, NY. However, few are familiar with the events that followed for Team USA, as a country and the world’s ice hockey community wondered if the Americans could do [...]

The 1963 Ice Bowl All-Stars: Ambassadors for our Nation & an Audience with a King

2020-08-26T14:17:33-04:00August 25th, 2020|

For a young hockey player several accomplishments are achieved during their pee-wee days. Some of these milestones might include scoring their first goal, lifting the puck, winning their first game, or for one bunch of Rhode Island pee-wee players - meeting the King of Sweden! If after reading that last sentence you thought to yourself [...]

If you skated in RI, your blades were likely sharpened on a Roger Guillemette machine

2020-08-21T11:41:58-04:00August 11th, 2020|

From youth leagues through college in the late fifties and sixties, Woonsocket’s Roger G. Guillemette was one of New England’s most highly accomplished hockey talents. A super-quick forward, Guillemette enrolled at nearby Mount St. Charles before transferring to LaSalle Academy for his sophomore year. The All-State forward would go on to lead the Rams in [...]

“Rollie’s Skate Shop” – The story of perhaps Rhode Island’s Most Famous “Grinder”

2020-07-14T14:35:32-04:00July 3rd, 2020|

For the smallest state in the country, Rhode Island has certainly turned out more than its fair share of great hockey figures – on ice and off.  And behind the scenes there have been a number of key figures who ensured our players got the competitive edge they needed. To the Rhode Islanders who chose [...]

Jack Ferreira & The Legend of “Mr. Magoo” – Debunked

2020-06-11T12:23:06-04:00June 11th, 2020|

When visiting the Boston University athletics website, the entry on their Terrier hall-of-fame goalie, long-time NHL executive and Rhode Island native, Jack Ferreira, reads: “Ferreira, who was legally blind and nicknamed ‘Mr. Magoo’ by his teammates, gave up just 2.0 goals a game and recorded eight shutouts.” While his stats are exceptional and indisputable, the [...]