Teammates and family
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From left, Dave Mathewson (class of '75), Dennis Erickson (class of '77) and Steve Patsos (class of '79) cheer for their teammates Saturday during an alumni game as Norwich University celebrated the 100th anniversary of its hockey program. Alumni games began at 9:30 a.m., pitting even-year graduates against odd-year graduates. PHOTO BY TIM CALABRO |
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By Thatcher Moats Staff Writer - Published: December 6, 2009
The celebration this weekend of 100 years of hockey at Norwich University triggered powerful memories for many people, but probably no one was more moved than Jim Serba, a 63-year-old Canadian who never even attended the private military college in Northfield.
Tears streamed down Serba's face as he skated off the ice after playing in an alumni game Saturday morning.
Serba's son, Michael Serba, was the captain of the 2005-06 team and a member of one of only two Norwich hockey teams to win a Division III national championship.
But three years ago, at age 26, Michael Serba was murdered at an ATM machine in Toronto. His assailant hit him with a brick, said Serba.
Serba said Norwich University has embraced him like a family member since his son's death, putting Michael's name on a memorial and a new scholarship. So when Jim Serba learned of the alumni game, he thought it would be a good chance to connect with his son.
"I thought it would be a hell of an opportunity to skate on the same ice he skated on," said Serba. "I got tears in my eyes, man. It just means so much."
People from across the generations converged on the campus this weekend to celebrate a century of building hockey teams, friendships and what could be called the Norwich hockey family.
Alumni games, luncheons, banquets and parties have been taking place since Friday, along with men's and women's hockey games.
Officials at the university said they have been working since last year to make this a memorable weekend because it's rare for a hockey program to have as rich a history as Norwich.
Paul Bova, an assistant vice president at Norwich, pointed out that the Montreal Canadiens also celebrated their 100th anniversary Friday night.
"They're an organization that represents hockey, and Norwich is celebrating theirs on the same night. That's pretty big," Bova said.
The history of the program's birth, development and rise to Division III champions was on display at Norwich University's Kreitzberg Arena, which opened in 1998.
A poster-size black-and-white photo hanging in the lobby shows the first Norwich team, a group of seven smooth-faced young men sporting dark turtleneck sweaters and well-coiffed hair.
They were called the Red Socks in 1909, and the team's name changed over the decades to the Red Sox, the Pucksters, the Maroon Pucksters and the Maroon Skaters before the school finally settled on the Cadets at the start of the 1951 season.
Dave Lamson was a Puckster. He was captain of the 1948-49 team and a defenseman who often found himself in the penalty box, he said.
"They called me 'Dirty Dave,'" said the 85-year-old with a grin as he stood next to a black-and-white photo of him and his team that was taken 50 years ago and now hangs in the arena.
Lamson and his wife, Elsie, traveled from their home in Massachusetts to Northfield for this weekend's celebration.
They've followed Norwich hockey closely and stayed connected to the university over the years because they remember their time there fondly and formed many friendships.
"We lived here for three years, and we had a great time," said Elsie. "We had a three-year honeymoon."
Dave Lamson spent one year at Norwich, then was drafted into the military and fought in an anti-aircraft unit in Europe during World War II, he said.
After being discharged from the military, he came back to Norwich University with his wife for his final three years of college.
The hockey games back then — which were held outdoors — were fun but frigid, she said.
"Cold, cold, cold," is how she remembers them.
Another photo in the arena titled "Early Hockey – Sabin Field" shows a long-ago game at the school. It's a stark scene, with snow-covered pastures, leafless trees and clapboard houses forming the rink's backdrop. The boards encircling the ice look as though they came straight from the lumberyard. Fans in dark clothing watch the action.
The new rink is state-of-the-art and not nearly as cold as it can get outside.
Regardless of where the games are held, it seems the friendships formed during playing days at Norwich are what keep alumni coming back to visit, including Michael Ludwar, 34, a member of the 2000 championship team.
"You never lose that bond," Ludwar said.
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