“The players are from multiple cross-sections of Northeastern which has led to friendships that I otherwise may never have had,” professor Chuck Hillman says.
They meet at 6:45 a.m. every Wednesday on the ice of Matthews Arena and for the next hour they play informal hockey games.
Greg Smith, director of academic space planning at Northeastern University, organizes a weekly skate for university faculty and staff that is now in its fifth decade. Smith took over the responsibility in 2019 when his dad — a co-founder of the informal ice hockey group — retired from his Northeastern job in enrollment management.
“In 1985, this faculty/staff skate was started by my father Jeff Smith, Dave Twombly, Clarke Thompson and Dave Flynn,” Greg Smith says. “All four were co-workers in the registrar’s office at the time. They started a word-of-mouth [campaign] around campus to get people to play hockey with them.”
Among those joining in would be Jim Madigan, a former Husky star who would ascend to Northeastern’s head coach for men’s ice hockey on his way to his current role as athletic director.
“I’ve been a Northeastern guy from the day I was born,” Smith says. “The athletics department deserves all the credit for everything they’ve done for us. It’s a humbling experience to be out there when the arena is quiet and it’s just you and the group playing. It gives you the chills a little bit, just taking it all in.”
Former Northeastern hockey players — men and women — have participated in the skating group over the years.
“When they’re in town, they’ll call or email and say, ‘Hey, can we go out there with you and play?’” Smith says of the former Huskies. “It’s a great way to keep a connection for those alumni. And then for our current faculty and staff it really boosts morale.”
Some have joined the group with no hockey experience and have learned to play the sport while skating with Northeastern colleagues.
“It’s our goal to bring folks in and encourage them to show up week after week and to learn the game that we all love,” Smith says. “It’s just a good group and we are not going to make anyone feel unwelcome. It’s all for fun.”
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Chuck Hillman, a professor and associate director of Northeastern’s Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, has been playing at Matthews for years.
“The players are from multiple cross-sections of Northeastern, which has led to friendships that I otherwise may never have had,” says Hillman, a lifelong hockey player. “It’s a friendly game that is welcoming of all levels of play, and the only thing better than our time on the ice is the locker room banter.”
The group has access to visitors’ locker rooms after their weekly session.
Smith began skating with the group at an early age.
“Whenever I had a doctor’s appointment, a snow day, a day off or whatever the case was, I’d always go in with my father and we’d skate together,” Smith says. “It was a highlight of my childhood for sure.”
Smith continued the tradition as an undergraduate at Northeastern.
“I played as a student throughout my five years here,” he says. “At the time I was playing goalie. If I ever missed a session, I’d hear about it from my dad and his friends.”
When Smith began working full time at Northeastern in 2011, he reconnected with the skating group. But he had to give up playing goalie a few years ago.
“I blew my knee out two years in a row. I think it was the side-to-side movement [of goaltending] that was causing it,” says Smith, who has since become a skater — and thereby avoided major injury.
He is proud that the group’s family traditions have continued.
“One of the guys that we play with now, Bob Gurecki (a longtime network technician at Northeastern) — his two grandsons play with us too,” Smith says. “We’re always joking with each other, pulling pranks on one another, lifting each other up if someone’s not doing well.”
Among the many highlights was an appearance by former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. During his 2004 presidential run, Kerry skated with group members for a commercial that was filmed at Matthews.
“I was still in high school,” Smith says. “John Kerry was surprisingly skilled. He was a very good player — he could move.”
Smith and his hockey colleagues have been grateful for the free ice time at an arena they have grown to cherish while the ice is in place from September to March or April.
Though Smith stays in email contact with 40 players, around 10 skaters and two goalies tend to show up each week.
“That’s just enough for five on five,” Smith says. “But there have been times when we’ve played three-on-three or four-on-four. When we’ve had no goalies, we just play hit the post or tip the net over — you know, pond hockey style — and figure out a way to count points.”
Though time is running short for this season, Smith welcomes anyone who would like to play to contact him.
“We divvy-up the teams that morning,” Smith says. “And if the game ends up being really lopsided, we just switch up the teams mid-game to make it even.
“There are no referees and no real rules other than to show respect to one another. We just sort of police ourselves and play.”