By Mark Pukalo
I saw Boston College end a 52-year drought to win an NCAA title, the growth of Division I hockey in Connecticut, witnessed a crowded bar sing along to a Vanilla Ice song and may have been in a movie without even knowing about it.
Such was my experience covering college hockey and the AHL in my final 7-8 years with the Harford Courant.
When the Whalers left for Raleigh, I dove into high school hockey and began to dip my toes in the water of college hockey. Yale gave me my first taste of a real college hockey atmosphere.
The 1998 Yale team, led by defenseman Ray Giroux and Jeff Hamilton, reached the NCAA tournament before losing to Ohio State 4-0 in the first round. I went down to the Yale's Ingalls Rink on Friday or Saturday nights several times and loved it.
The unique building, featuring a ceiling designed like a whaling ship, has a great history and the team was exciting with legendary Tim Taylor (left) at the helm. Taylor was very nice to me all the way through, even after my editors forced me to dig into his depression issues after coaching the unsuccessful 1994 Olympic team. He passed away in 2013.
Taylor stands as one of the best people I met along the way. He deserved better. Taylor was forced out of his job in 2006 and apparently Yale loosened some of the requirements to get some better players in afterward. New coach Keith Allain did a good job, winning an NCAA title after I left in 2013. Imagine that. Yale beat Quinnipiac for the national championship. Who could have predicted that when I started covering state teams in 1998?
Quinnipiac, Fairfield, UConn and Sacred Heart joined MAAC hockey in 1998-99. The Huskies actually won the tournament at home in 2000, but I don't remember much about it. The league did not get an automatic NCAA bid until 2001 when Mercyhurst won the tournament and played Michigan tough.
Athletic Director Jack MacDonald at Quinnipiac was the catalyst of Division I Connecticut college hockey. The Bobcats were very aggressive in recruiting and had a brash, young coach in Rand Pecknold.
Pecknold seemed a bit more of a salesman at first, but developed into a very good hockey coach. He led the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 2002 where they lost to Cornell 6-1 in Worcester, Mass.
Quinnipiac hockey was going places, though. Eventually, the Bobcats left Northford Rink and had their own beautiful arena that I visited a few times before leaving the job. Pecknold is still there and took Quinnipiac to three NCAA title games before finally winning here in Tampa two years ago.
One year later, UConn reached the NCAAs for the first time.
It was quite a journey from covering the first MAAC tournament semifinals at Holy Cross in 1999 to today. It makes me happy that I was in on the ground floor of college hockey in Connecticut.
I just wish I could hear the Yale pep band play "The Love Boat Theme" and Brittney Spears' "Oops, I did it Again," just one more time.
Pure magic.
Frozen In Time: The NCAA Tournament
The 1998 Frozen Four at the Fleet Center in Boston was the first I was able to cover.
Michigan edged Boston College 3-2 in overtime with goalie Marty Turco besting Scott Clemmensen. What a crowd with two big bands creating an amazing atmosphere.
Two years later, BC had another chance with Brian Gionta's team. However, the Eagles were beaten by North Dakota 4-2 in Providence. Future NHL defenseman Mike Commodore scored the first goal for the then-Fighting Sioux.
The most memorable Frozen Four for me was in 2001 at Albany. It produced a rematch between North Dakota and BC in the final. I always liked BC coach Jerry York. When I drove to Chestnut Hill to do a feature on future Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Mike Mottau, York was very welcoming.
It was time for him to win it. The Eagles had not won a championship since 1949. But BC had to work overtime.
Because of a Saturday night deadline and the way the press is seated in some of those older buildings for a big event, the media ends up watching the end of the game on a TV in the press room.
You could hear the roar and the walls shake above the press room a few seconds before seeing Krys Kolanos (left) score the winner on TV for the Eagles. Needing a quick lead to get the top of my story out, I wrote a one-word lead.
"Finally."
I reworked the story later, but it was one of the best college hockey memories I have. What a night n Albany.
I'm not sure when it was that weekend, but I asked the person at the front desk of my small motel outside the city limits if there was a late-night bar to go have a bite to eat and a few beers. He or she directed me to take a left and follow it to the first intersection.
It was definitely a townie bar, but seemed safe enough and I settled for a few beers. But, oh no. It was Karaoke Night.
After a few poor performances, someone got up and threw the crowd into a frenzy. He started singing "Ice, Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. The patrons at the bar joined in. All of them. It was a party. There was dancing. I watched in amazement and tried not to laugh.
I know. Some things you just can't forget.
Traveling With Trinity
In the winter of 2005, the Trinity Bantams made it to the Division III Final Four and I was able to make the trek to Middlebury, Vt. Trinity was led by coach John Dunham, who was a delight to deal with.
I worked in the office that day and took off without a hotel booked for the semifinals against St. Thomas, Minn. the next day. I had no clue where to stop and I went too far as it turns out, but some 20 minutes from Middlebury I found a small hotel. I woke up the clerk after midnight and was a little apprehensive about the place. But I was kind of desperate, and tired.
Luckily, it only reminded me of the Bates Motel.
The Middlebury arena (below) was absolutely beautiful. What a nice little city. Would like to go back some day. Unfortunately, the Bantams lost 4-1 and I could not stay over. It was a long ride home.
Prowling with the Wolf Pack
In my last two years at the Courant, I had a chance to cover the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.
It was a way better experience than I anticipated. With beat writer Bruce Berlet away for the start of the 2006-07 season, there were plenty of opportunities to see some developing NHL players.
The year before I covered a few games and defenseman Dan Girardi was getting his start. Goalie Al Montoya was on the team both years. But at training camp in 2006, we saw the first of Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan.
I made trips to Springfield, Worcester, Providence and Lowell. I remember a big night for Dubinsky in Worcester, interviewing Callahan after a win in Providence and an amazing comeback in Lowell on a Sunday afternoon.
That's another game story I would like to find. If I remember right, Hartford was down a few goals late, with nothing going on and enduring a tiring stretch on the road. They may have had some injuries as well. But they battled back to win.
There was a quote from coach Jim Schoenfeld after the game that I could not use. Let's just say he doesn't normally "laud" his teams after games, but he was very pleased with their effort against the odds. Unfortunately, it was too profane and would need too many .....s. I wish I could remember it word for word. It would make even Lori Riley chuckle.
Schoenfeld was great to work with that year. He was honest, asked me opinions and always gave his time with a smile.
Years after that I saw Schoenfield in the press box at Amalie Arena and he would come over to talk. Guess who I also chatted with in the press box during that period of time? Yes, Don Koharski.
If you know hockey lore, those two are connected. "Have another donut ya fat pig," Schoenfeld yelled at Koharski after a period of NHL hockey when they were coach and referee.
Koharski never told me personally, but I heard that Don was ultimately grateful about that incident. It made him think about getting healthier and it might have saved his life.
Oh, and I had to watch the documentary "Secret Mall Apartment" very closely. It is a documentary about a group of artists in Providence who built an illegal apartment in a forgotten area between the mall and the parking garage near the old Civic Center between 2003-07. I was in that garage a few times that year covering the Wolf Pack.
Nah, they didn't show me walking to my car. Darn.
