New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the northeastern United States.

Its population is over 1,300,000.

Its capital is Concord and the largest city is Manchester.

History of hockey in New Hampshire

Described as a “quintessential, private, elite boarding school,” St. Paul’s School was established in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1855. There is a long history of skating and hockey activities at the school. Alumnus, teacher, and hockey coach Malcolm Kenneth Gordon [1868-1964] wrote that combinations of shinny and hockey were played at the school as far back as the 1860s. Regarded as the “Father of hockey” at St. Paul’s, Gordon coached the sport there from 1888 to 1917, developing numerous players, including the famous Hobey Baker.

A student publication, Horae Scholasticae, described a lively scene on the ice during the Thanksgiving of 1860. “Here, near the shore, is a group of teachers looking on and talking and joking with the boys around them. There, a little further out is seen a party of boys in pursuit of a hockey ball. One boy swings his hockey and away goes the ball skimming over the ice. The party dashes off in pursuit. The head boy catches up with the ball, and takes aim at it, but misses it and sends himself sprawling over the ice with the force of the blow. The next boy is more fortunate and sends the ball back again and the same scene is again enacted."

In January and December 1876, the Rural Record (a daily publication), noted that hockey on the ice enjoyed “great popularity” at the school. Ice hockey entered its “Golden Age” at St. Paul’s during the 1880s. A teacher named James P. Conover was a key figure in the development of the sport. He taught and mentored numerous players, including Malcolm Gordon. In 1881, it was said that ice hockey “claims the attention of the whole school.” The first set of rules specifically for hockey played on the ice in the United States were published in Horae Scholasticae in 1883. The first game using these rules was played on the Lower Pond on November 17.

A Hockey Association was created at the school in 1885 and the rules from 1883 were slightly revised. Matches were usually played between forms (classes) until 1888, when the inter-class “club” model was adopted. The Delphian, Mohican and Rugby clubs were among the first to appear. The Mohicans won the school ice hockey championship in 1889, winning five out of six games. On April 9, 1896, a St. Paul’s “School” team faced an “all-star” alumni squad at the St. Nicholas Rink in New York City. The game was played using the Montreal Rules, with Malcolm Gordon serving as referee. From this point onward, these rules were utilized at St. Paul’s.

The Nashua High School had an inter-class hockey competition by 1907. Youth hockey began in Concord in 1911, the Concord Young Sluggers beating Young I.O.C. 2-1 at White Park. The White Park Warriors had a team by 1915-16. At the senior level, the Concord Hockey Club was active from 1924-1936, the Millville Bruins from 1926-1939, Concord Sacred Heart from 1930-1952, and the White Park Hockey Club from 1939-1942. Sacred Heart notably hosted the US Olympic Team on January 8, 1952, falling 8-6.

St. Paul's School remained a force, and Manchester High and Phillips Exeter Academy both had hockey programs by 1913. “Tug” Tyler organized an informal hockey team at Exeter in 1911, but it only became an official sport two years later. Hockey was played on ponds and rivers in Berlin by 1903, and it was reported that students at the Berlin High School were practicing and planned to play the game, but the first formal rink was not erected in the town until 1913. Mill teams were formed in 1920, and a four team city league began play - Town, Burgess, Cascade and Berlin Mills competing. A young priest, Alpheri Lauziere, later known as the "Grandfather of hockey in Berlin" soon entered a club in the City League known as the Canadiens, who captured the title in 1924 and 1926.

The Berlin Hockey Club was formed began playing outside competition in 1920, facing teams from Quebec, Maine, and Boston during the early 1920s. In 1923, the Berlin Athletic Association (also called the Mountaineers) was formed, and enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the region, Alpheri Lauziere guiding and financing them by 1925. The Nashua Nationals were also active by 1923-24. Nashua and the Manchester Hockey Club joined the New England Hockey League for 1925-26. Manchester left the league after one season, and was replaced by Berlin, but Nashua remained in it until 1928, capturing all three championships. The North Conway Granites began play around 1924. The Littleton Blackhawks were formed around 1929, and the Storm Kings also came into existence in the early 1930s. The Manchester St. Jeans were formed in the late 1920s, and Manchester St. Anselm began play in 1930, as did the Exeter Knights of Columbus. The Rye Seahawks played from 1946-1960, the Dover Mohawks were around in 1949, and the Nashua Royals were active from 1951-1966. In 1952, the Royals beat the Rye Seahawks 8-4 to win the New Hampshire Class B Championship.

The Manchester Hockey Club was set to face the Nashua Royals on January 17, 1954. They had games slated against the Derry Townies for December 26, 1955 (defeating them 10-0), and Concord Sacred Heart for January 1, 1956. The Manchester Beavers played from 1958-1963. They planned to play Rye on February 5, 1960, and Concord Sacred Heart two days later. They beat the Exeter Legion 7-4 on January 15, 1961, but fell 13-6 to the Amesbury Maples on the 17th. Manchester was set to play Laconia on the 22nd.

The following players were members of the 1931-32 Berlin Hockey Club: Garfield Hamel, Harvey Roberge, Arthur Rivard, F. Therrien, Fred Hayes, Al Therriault, Oscar Lefrancois, Leslie Theberge, C. Dube, Maurice Dancocs, Gene Garneau, Oscar Ross, E. Guay, manager C. Trahan (manager), E. Roberge (coach). In this era, the Lewiston Cyclones and St. Dom’s and the Waterville club from Maine offered good competition. The Berlin Maroons were founded in 1937, and annexed their first New England AAU Championship in 1941, adding further rings in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1967 and 1968. The Maroons later won the United States National Senior Hockey Championship in 1954, 1967 and 1968. The covered Notre Dame Arena opened in Berlin in 1948. The Maroons played until 1972, and were later revived from 1974-1987. As a result of the success achieved by the Maroons and the Berlin and Notre Dame High School's, who won every state title from 1947-1968, Berlin came to be known as "Hockey Town USA".

Dartmouth University first fielded a hockey team during the 1905-06 season. They have reached the Frozen Four four times, and came in second in 1948 and 1949. The University of New Hampshire Wildcats began play in January 1925. The team played outdoors until 1965, and has enjoyed a moderate amount of success, reaching the Frozen Four seven times, and finishing as runners-up in 1999 and 2003.

The Granite State Hockey League was formed in 1963 and played until 1967, when it was supplanted by the New England Hockey League, which played until 1973. During the first few seasons most of the games were played in the form of doubleheaders at the newly opened John F. Kennedy Memorial Coliseum likely accounting for two team not having indoor arenas in their communities. In 1973-74, the Concord Eastern Olympics and Manchester Monarchs competed in the Can-Am Hockey League. The Manchester Blackhawks played as an independent team from 1965-1967, before joining the NEHL for 1967-68. The Tri-City Coachmen, featuring players from Concord, Manchester, and Nashua, played an independent schedule in 1974-75. The Concord Budmen were active as an independent team from 1976-1979. A second incarnation of the New England League began play for 1979-80, and lasted until 1992. Berlin, the Manchester Blackhawks, and the Concord Budmen were among the teams in the league. The Concord Coachmen played an independent schedule in 1966-67, going 24-12-2 on the season.

The Cape Cod Freedoms, who were in the Northeastern Hockey League in 1978-79, also played some games in Manchester and Berlin. The Manchester Monarchs played in the American Hockey League from 2001-2015 and the ECHL from 2015-2019. The Berlin River Drivers were a professional team that played in the Federal Hockey League from 2015-2017. In 2018, the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey minor professional league added the Berlin BlackJacks, but the team was relocated to Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, by December 2018.

External links

• New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Website

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