John Dunham's place at the helm of Trinity men's hockey predates even its first days as a varsity program. His tenure as head coach has spanned the Bantams' first winning season, its first NESCAC title and its first trip to the NCAA Div. III Frozen Four. And now, after 32 years, Dunham will see the program move into its first true home.
Twenty-five months after breaking ground, Dunham, the only men's hockey coach Trinity has ever known, moved his young, unproven Bantams into the brand-new Williams Ice Rink at the Community Sports Complex (CSC). The Bantams christened the $11 million arena with two mid-November NESCAC contests, but the CSC has yet to see a Trinity win. After two losses and a tie, the team's first win came on Sunday with a 4-2 decision at Conn. College.
In addition to providing a new home for the men's and women's ice hockey teams, the CSC is Trinity's gesture towards improving its strained relationship with surrounding Hartford, which was publicized when the Princeton Review ranked the school's rapport with its locals as the worst in the country in its 2007 edition of Best 361 Colleges. Besides hosting after-school programs for the Boys and Girls Club, the CSC is expected to be open to the public at least 15 hours per week for hockey and skating.
In addition to the Hartford community, Trinity hockey will benefit from having a rink on campus for the first time. In the past, the team rented ice time from nearby Kingswood-Oxford prep school, forcing it to hold practice after 10 p.m. For Trinity's student-athletes, the centrally-located practice site provides much-needed flexibility and convenience.
"The Trinity hockey program has been waiting for something like this for a long time," junior forward Dan Maturi said. "A lot of Trinity hockey alumni have been suffering at Kingswood for a long time, so the CSC is a big step forward."
And with the NESCAC stacked with nationally competitive programs - Middlebury has won the past three men's and women's NCAA Div. III titles and Bowdoin and Colby are both nationally ranked - the CSC also gives Trinity a chance to distinguish itself to recruits.
"There are so many top-draw schools in the NESCAC; players are going to go where the best facilities are," Dunham said. "Facilities mean so much in attracting quality players and building a successful program."
Besides building a winning team, the CSC helps build a hockey fan following as well. Rather than venturing five miles into West Hartford to see a game, Trinity students now simply have to go to the corner of Broad St. and New Britain Ave. to cheer on their Bantams. Students have indeed embraced their accessibility to hockey games, as evidenced by the 1,950 fans who packed the CSC for its inaugural night on Nov. 17 to watch the puck drop between Trinity and Hamilton to launch the 2006-2007.
The Bantams also debuted a young, unproven squad of 19 freshmen and sophomores, a stark difference from last year's roster that included 17 juniors and seniors. As their 5-2 loss to the Continentals and 1-2-1 overall record indicates, fielding an inexperienced squad comes with some growing pains.
"There's a saying in sports: the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores," Dunham said. "You can't win with freshman. They are 18- and 19-year olds playing against 21- and 22-year olds. Opening night, we saw what happens with such a young team. They got caught up in the moment, and there were too many distractions. That's probably why we didn't play good hockey."
The critics believe Trinity's youth will cost it a chance to be competitive this season. U.S. Hockey Online projected that the Bantams, a semifinalist in the NESCAC Tournament last year and a Frozen Four participant two years ago, would finish this seventh in the NESCAC this season. Still, there is confidence that the young players are developing quickly.
"[This year's recruiting class] is a very tight group and is continuing to get better every day," said freshman forward John Carter, who has tallied two goals and two assists so far in his rookie season. "We have an extremely young team, and if a few of the younger guys can really step up, we can be a dangerous team as the season goes on."
And with the hoopla surrounding the CSC's opening behind them, the Bantams still have to face a challenging conference schedule. They will face three-time defending national champion Middlebury on Jan.1, and early February brings match-ups with Bowdoin and Colby, ranked No. No. 11 and No. 15 in the nation, respectively. Also looming is a New Year's Eve contest against Hobart, a Frozen Four participant a year ago. The stiff competition will provide Dunham plenty of opportunities to assess his team's development.
"As a coach, you don't find out what you've got when you play teams and beat them 10-1," he said. "You need to test them; it's okay to lose. You just hope that you can make progress and grow up throughout the season."
