A TRIP TO THE FROZEN FOUR
by Thomas Weaver
photos by Sally McCay
THURSDAY, APRIL 9
VERIZON CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
It’s not hard to figure out who a tall man with a Swedish accent searching for the Vermont ticket Will Call at the Frozen Four might be. It’s junior forward Viktor Stålberg’s father, likely winner of the Catamount fan who traveled the farthest to see tonight’s semifinal match-up with Boston University. The Stålbergs are joined by many other families of the athletes—Dutch Holland, grandfather of Dean Strong ’09, who regularly makes the long trip from Ontario to Vermont games; Sarah Lenes, a staff member in UVM’s alumni office who juggles duty at a lively pre-game reception with cheering on her brother, senior Peter Lenes ’09; and a good percentage of the population of Lake County, Minnesota, who have made the trip south to support Corey Carlson ’09 in his final game in a Vermont jersey.
The team’s adoptive family—diehard Catamount fans—have also hit the road to be here for this first Frozen Four appearance since 1996. A random sampling of the green-and-gold clad outside the Verizon Center or at the UVM event in a nearby Irish pub rattle off home states of Georgia, Wisconsin, Florida, Alaska, and of course, Vermont. There are many alumni in the fan base, and a fair number of alumni of varsity hockey, such as Chuck Ross ’78, a longtime member of Sen. Patrick Leahy’s staff, and Ian Boyce ’89, chair of UVM’s Board of Trustees.
There’s a particular buzz among the alumni who traveled just a few blocks to get to the game. Krissy Pisanelli ’97 and Erin O’Brien ’03 are among the alums active in Vermont’s D.C. regional group who say that having the Catamounts in town at the Frozen Four has energized the locals. The gold t-shirts passed out to fans at the pre-game reception boast “District of Catamounts” across the back.
Up in Vermont, hundreds of fans turned out to watch an open practice and show their support as the team made final preparations in the days leading up to the game. Coach Kevin Sneddon said, “Between the text messaging and calls, my phone is getting ready to explode, just well wishes from fans, alums, guys that played for me or Gilly or Jimmy Cross. The best thing about this experience—we really are sharing this with an enormous number of people that care about the University of Vermont.”
THE GAME
All across the Verizon Center’s 18,000-some seats, the decibel level can’t be higher than it is in five rows filled with young UVM alumni bringing it with a vengeance, outfitted in green hockey helmets and wigs, vintage Vermont jerseys, face paint. The game hasn’t started yet.
When the puck does drop, it soon looks like Vermont fans’ worst fears about facing the nation’s top-ranked team might be realized. BU goes up 2-0 after the first period, but the U-V-M cheers remain steady from the rowdy heart of the Vermont fan base that dominates one corner of the arena. When Vermont nets three goals in a six-minute span in the second period to take the lead, it’s game on, and the guys in the face paint take it up a notch.
The rally brings to mind a statement Coach Sneddon made earlier in the week when asked about his team’s character: “I think their resilience stands out, their ability to be relentless. Nothing knocks these guys down. Look at the double overtime situation. (UVM’s quarterfinal win over Air Force.) We don’t know if that goal is going to count or not, we think something weird happened. But our players were smiling—relaxed intensity. Mentally, they’re the toughest team that I’ve ever been involved with.”
But BU has a rally of their own and the game trades hands through the third period. UVM 3, BU 3. UVM 4, BU 3. UVM 4, BU 4.
Final: UVM 4, BU 5.
The game ends, but the Vermont fans aren’t done. The U-V-M! chant starts up again. On the ice, the Catamount players shake hands with the BU team, then skate slowly over to the Vermont section and raise their sticks in salute.
AFTERMATH
In the post-game press conference, Coach Sneddon, Justin Milo ’11, Drew MacKenzie ’12, and Dean Strong ’09 take questions from some of the hundreds of local, national, and sports media covering the Frozen Four.
Ted Ryan ’69, longtime Burlington Free Press sportswriter, asks senior captain Strong, who has never missed a game in his entire UVM career, how it feels to have played his final game as a Catamount.
Staring straight ahead, his face emotionless, Strong says: “First and foremost, it hurts really badly right now. But for the positive, I’m very proud of being part of this hockey club. And I can’t think of a better way to have spent four years right now than with this coaching staff and the group of guys this year and the last three years.”
Sneddon gets the last word with his thoughts on this year’s team. “I thanked them before the game, I thanked them after the game, because they’re just great people. I had a lot of fun just kind of living through them this tournament, really the whole season. They’re just such great gentlemen. We had no attitudes to deal with, no off-ice issues. I always say you’ve got a great team when they’re low-maintenance. Everybody accepted their role, embraced their role, cheered each other on. Nobody was really at the forefront of our team. Even though we had a guy like Viktor Stålberg as a Hobey Baker finalist, he’s as modest as they come. So I guess the memories I’ll have are of what a great family we were able to create this year.”
ONLINE EXTRA
VIDEO: FROZEN FOUR 2009
SHORTS
Cycling
UVM cyclists win two at nationals
University of Vermont cyclists again proved themselves as one of the best teams in the country at the 2009 Collegiate National Championships, held May 8-11 in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jamey Driscoll ’09 won the men’s Division I road race decisively, and teammate Will Dugan ’09 sprinted in to take second place. The next day, Vermont’s Colin Jaskiewicz ’10 carried the green-and-gold across the line first with a victory in the men’s Division I criterium. Impressive team strength and strategy by the Vermont riders put Jaskiewicz into position to win at the race’s final corner, where he pulled away in the sprint to the finish.
Men’s soccer
Remembering Donoson FitzGerald
The University of Vermont men’s soccer program lost a stalwart friend and supporter when Donoson FitzGerald passed away last December. FitzGerald, known as “Mr. Fitz” by scores of past Catamount soccer players, became a Vermont fan in the 1980s when sons Donoson (’83) and Parke (’85) played for Vermont. He remained a fixture long after his sons graduated. The elder FitzGerald’s singular cry of “Go, Cats, Go!” is etched in many players’ minds and the team’s Donoson FitzGerald Award recognizes exceptional perseverance, integrity, and sportsmanship. For those wishing to honor the life of Donoson FitzGerald, the family asks that gifts be made to the UVM men’s soccer fund. Contact: Ruth.MacCormack@uvm.edu or (802) 656-3225.