By Danielle Achin
Winter is a time to be on the ice and enjoy the cold weather. However, the season didn’t exactly turn out as expected for the Framingham State ice hockey team.
Seniors Nolan Greene and Matthew Siegel were disappointed their time skating together was cut short despite having an optimistic outlook on their season.
“We started captains’ practices about a couple weeks into school, which we paid for [ourselves], and that had been going on for about a month,” Siegel said. “We thought not hearing anything from the school was a positive, until we found out through social media the league canceled the season.”
They found it difficult to believe their season was canceled via Twitter.
“It was pretty much the nail in the coIn,” Siegel said. “It really did happen – we were just really into it this season and we never got the opportunity as a senior class.”
Greene said, “A lot of people weren’t really happy with that. Despite being cautious with everything.”
Siegel came to FSU from Syracuse, New York and has been on the ice since he was 2 years old. He got involved in the youth hockey league when he was 4.
“My mom’s father started a hockey shop business in Syracuse, so it’s always kinda been a big part of our lives,” said Siegel.
He Rnished his 2019-20 season with 5 assists, and scored 5 goals total.
Greene is from Quincy and had been skating since he was about 4 and began playing hockey around the third grade.
“I played other sports but I wasn’t very good,” Greene said. “My main focus was hockey and everything else was just for fun.”
The two men and other seniors made it a point of turning the team around for better seasons to come and were upset they wouldn’t be able to witness the progress on the ice, but proud of the commitment the team had made to each other.
Greene said, “By last year, team stretches and workouts became mandatory. You had to eat right and we tried to make everyone feel welcome. The whole culture was different.
“I think that’s something that will carry on with the grades below us,” he added.
Greene finished last year’s season with a goals-against average of 9.00, and 12 saves overall.
Without funds from the school, the team is unable to schedule any ice time for practices making it difficult to see each other.
“There’s a locker room bond that’s not like any other sport in my opinion,” said Siegel. “There’s probably a minimum of a 30-minute window before or after practice where everyone is in the same room and we’re just vibing, and that’s where you really form a brotherhood.
“This year we didn’t have that – we had to get dressed outside,” he added.
Greene said, “You miss the games, but you miss the locker room more than anything, everyone is just laughing and having a good time. No one is really on their phones.”
He added, “That’s definitely what I miss the most.”
Finding out last year’s season would also be their final one, the men leave some words of
encouragement for the grades below and future members.
“Enjoy your four years and cherish your time playing and being with the boys,” Siegel said.
“People always say it. I always thought it was a cliché, ‘You never know when your last game is gonna be.’ Well, I actually had my last game and I didnt even know it.”
Greene added, “Every moment, just enjoy it. Obviously there are gonna be times when it sucks but not in the locker room when you’re just dying laughing.”