Today I am as excited to play hockey as I have been in years. I am down in New Hampshire getting ready to play in the Dartmouth Women’s Hockey Alumni Game. This afternoon, us alums will be reliving our “glory days” against the current Dartmouth team. Did I mention that the team is currently ranked #7 in the country and most of the alumni squad haven’t exactly skated very much in the last little while? Oh well, maybe we’ll surprise them (or maybe not).

My best hockey memories came from playing at Dartmouth. Sure we had some awesome victories, like when we beat Harvard on the night they raised their national championship banner to the rafters, or when we beat Providence in quadruple overtime in the playoffs after out-shooting them 56-10. We won 4 titles and were ranked #1 in the country. But more important than all of that…

I have remained friends with most of the girls from my “glory days”. I will get emails from girls I played with 10 years ago and we’ll instantly reconnect over hockey and start reminiscing about our “glory days”. I can’t even put into words how excited I am to finally see some of those long-distance friends in person this afternoon.

Another cool thing about today is that I also get to play against a few of the younger players that I trained and coached before they got to Dartmouth. Sure it makes me feel a little bit old, but it will be awesome to see them actually living out their dream after working so hard to accomplish their goal of getting there in the first place.

All week I have found my mind wandering back to the time I spent at Dartmouth and it always brings a smile to my face. I am sure that when I step out on the ice this afternoon, it will feel like I had never left. That is until one of the “young guns” blows by me on a breakaway.

What’s your greatest hockey memory?
Is there one particular team or coach that you know you will never forget?

Share your stories below - and remember to remember your “glory days” because you never know how long it will be before you get to relive them.

~ Coach Kim