Episode 84: Ben Syer. Ben grew up in a small town and was drawn to hockey immediately. Coming from a family of teacher’s, Ben knew the act of hard work and earning everything you got. He would go on to play Junior B hockey before attending Western University. After University, Ben would get an opportunity at Quinnipiac University that would change his career path forever. Since this opportunity, Ben has been involved in college hockey for the past 20 + years. He worked 10+ years at Quinnipiac University, 13 years at Cornell before moving on to Princeton where he just finished his first season as Head Coach. We joked about his early days of recruiting where he carried around a huge binder with players names and contacts in it. We talked about how he learned over the years of working alongside great coaches and how he was ready to make the jump to the big chair. Ben also shared the types of players he looks to recruit at his programs. Unfortunately the video feed malfunctioned a bit and only works when I am speaking. Luckily the audio from Ben is still there so you can hear him speaking. It was great to talk to Ben and someone who has been involved in college hockey for so long. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 83: Stephen Wiedler. Stephen grew up in the New York area and was naturally a New York Rangers fan. We talked about his funny memories of the Stanley Cup run in 1994 and what it was like to witness it. Stephen would eventually find himself at D3 Elmira College before transferring to University of Southern Maine where he would play 3 seasons and even be captain. After college, Stephen would play 2 years of pro in the SPHL before landing a coaching job at Curry College, coached by TJ Manastersky. Stephen and I talked about his grind the first couple years of working hard with little money and not ideal living arrangements while at Curry. I brought up a funny story about a concept called the “rattle jar”, which was essentially a jar that the head coach would have to donate money to when he sent the assistant coaches on a nonsense mission. This funny tradition started at Curry College with TJ. Stephen would then head to D1 American International College (AIC) where he would spend 5 seasons and learning from Eric Lang. Stephen would then switch to University of Vermont, where he has recently finished his 1st season as HC. We also talked about what it means to be a Catamount and the characteristics behind the type of hockey they try to play at UofV. I always enjoy talking to fellow D3 graduates who have made their way up the ranks in the sport of hockey. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 82: Rico Blasi. Rico grew up in the Toronto area in an Italian family that knew nothing of ice hockey. He got his introduction on the outdoor rinks in the GTA and this is where he first got the passion for hockey. He was lucky to be coached at a young age by the famous Stan Butler who taught Rico a lot about the game of hockey and different paths available. Rico would go on to attend D1 Miami of Ohio University on a hockey scholarship for 4 years, which was an up and coming program. After a few brief stops in pro hockey and coaching his old junior team, Rico would get a chance at the University of Denver as an Assistant Coach for 4 seasons. In 1999, Rico’s old university was in search of a new Head Coach and Rico thought he should just put his name in for the sake of it. Turns out it was a great idea as Rico was hired and would spend the next 20 seasons as Head Coach of Miami of Ohio. Over this time he helped shape the program and would help them achieve 2 Frozen Four appearances as well as NCAA Runner Up in 2009. This long run also saw Rico win multiple coaching awards including NCAA Coach of the Year in 2006. During Covid, Nate Leaman from Providence University would reach out to Rico about an opening as the Director of Administration for the college. This was a new challenge for Rico that he knew nothing about but he is happy he did it as he was able to continue to grow his resume and network in NCAA. In 21/22, new D1 school, University of St. Thomas would come knocking with interest in Rico to be their new Head Coach, where he has been ever since. We talked about the process of building a new D1 program, some of the rules I wasn’t aware of, as well as some other interesting facts about the school that not many people would know. It is awesome to see someone from the GTA thriving in college hockey and I am happy Rico was able to share some time with me. Hope you enjoy!