Morale on Ice
Story and photos by Seaman Sabrina Elgammal
First District Public Affairs
Ice chips flew in the cold heavy air as the sound of hockey sticks hitting a puck echoed throughout the arena. Spectators gathered behind the thick synthetic safety glass, shouting with excitement, as the players skated across the ice chasing their prize.
For the past three years Coast Guard and Boston Police Department members have met every Thursday for a morning of hockey and friendly competition at Steriti Memorial Rink in Boston's North End.
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Seaman John Cairns, right, from Coast Guard Cutter |
The Coast Guard hockey team has been going strong for over three years, said Smith, who started the team. It is made up of Coast Guardsmen of different rates and ranks from units throughout the Boston area.
Smith said this year his team will have the opportunity to compete in the Coast Guard Commandant's Cup Hockey Tournament in Bourne, Mass., on April 11 and 12, 2008.
The Tournament has been taking place for 16 years and is designed to develop team work, positive sportsmanship, and create publicity for a great sport and generate awareness for a unique element of our service.
"We are all excited to be able to participate in such an exciting event," said Smith.
The Boston Police hockey team started in 1984 and is made up entirely of Boston police officers, said Elliot Feldman, the director of the Boston Police Department's athletics and activities leagues
"Playing hockey is more than just skating around the rink." said Feldman. "It is about all the good things that come along with it, like the extra pounds you keep off during the winter season.
Feldman, said one of the major goals of his team is to raise money for a variety of charitable causes. Over the last 10 years his team has raised about $400,000.
Before each game, the two teams start off with a group stretch to prevent any injuries. Next, the teams warm up by skating around the rink and getting a feel for the ice. They pass the hockey puck back and forth to each other and practice different defense techniques.  |
| The goalie slides across the ice to block the puck from going into the goalies net. "It's a great way to stay in shape," said Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas Smith, a storekeeper stationed at Coast Guard Sector Boston and captain of the First District hockey team. "We stretch before and after the game and work up quite a sweat while playing." |
The goalies skate around the goal net getting a feel for their maneuverability while laden with the goalie's protective equipment. Then the teams take their positions and start the intense game of lunch time hockey.
The Coast Guard and Boston Police Department work just as well together off the ice as they do on it.
"Playing hockey together allows both agencies to form bonds and strengthen partnerships," said Capt. Frederick Kenney, chief of the Coast Guard's legal office in Boston, and member of the Coast Guard team. "That bond alone could come in very handy in future operations."
The two agencies join forces to protect the waterfront during high profile events such as the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and both are members of the Unified Command established during the transits of liquefied natural gas tankers through Boston Harbor.
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