Page 12 - fall2011

Sports
10 FALL 2011 . S T. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
Former Saints men’s hockey captain
Rich Peverley ’04 became the frst
St. Lawrence alum to see his name
engraved on the NHL’s Stanley Cup as a
player, when the Boston Bruins won the
fabled trophy in June.
Peverley was instrumental in the
Bruins’ victory, which brought the Cup to
“Beantown” for the frst time since 1972.
Acquired by Boston in February from the
Atlanta Trashers, he was
placed on the top line by
Bruins coach Claude Julien
in Game 3 of the seven-game
fnal series against Vancouver.
Peverley answered with two
goals in a 4-0 Game 4 victory
that tied the series at two
games apiece. He fnished the
playofs with four goals and
eight assists in 25 games.
Afer arriving in Boston,
Peverley played multiple
roles: checking forward,
penalty killer, power-play for-
ward. Tat versatility earned
him his spot on the frst line.
Peverley understands
that versatility is the key to
growth. “Tat’s the way I’ve
tried to play my whole career,”
he told a USA Today reporter,
recalling the seasons when
he was St. Lawrence’s leading
scorer.
Peverley’s professional
hockey experience includes
stints with the Nashville
Predators, the AHL’s Milwau-
kee Admirals and the East Coast Hockey
League’s South Carolina Stingrays and
Reading Royals. A native of Guelph,
Ont., he also played all seven games for
Canada in the 2010 World Champion-
ship.
In an article by Andrew Miller of the
Charleston Post and Courier, Peverley
expressed his appreciation for the path he
has followed. “I never thought I’d be in
this position,” he said of winning the Stan-
ley Cup. When you’re in the ECHL, your
goal is to make it to the American Hockey
League. When you’re in the AHL, you
want to get to the NHL. Ten when
you’re in the NHL for a couple of seasons,
you want to get a chance to (win the Cup).
Small steps, small goals will
eventually get you to where
you want to be.” He was
happy to move to a “hockey
market,” he told a Boston
Globe writer regarding his
trade. His former team has
since relocated from Atlanta
to Winnipeg.
Heading into the playofs,
Peverley had played 276
career NHL games with 60
goals and 91 assists for 151
points. He notched 18 goals
and 23 assists in 82 games
during the regular season, and
was one of only two Bruins
to play in all 82 games of the
regular season, though not
all were with Boston. Te du-
rable Peverley also played in
all 82 games for the Trashers
in 2009-10, when they did
not make the playofs.
Peverley ended his St.
Lawrence career with 44
goals and 73 assists for 117
points in 138 games and led
the Saints in scoring in three
consecutive seasons (2001-02 through
2003-04), a feat accomplished by only fve
St. Lawrence players. He graduated with a
major in economics and a minor in sports
studies and exercise science.
SLUHead Coach Joe Marsh, whose fa-
vorite team growing up in New Hampshire
was the Bruins, told a Watertown Daily
Times reporter that watching Peverley in
the playofs had “rekindled” his interest in
the team. “He really stood out,” Marsh said
of Peverley. “He’s a real good argument for
staying in college for four years.”
In turn, Peverley told the reporter that
Marsh had helped him mature not only as
a hockey player, but also as a person. “He’s
very good at teaching life lessons as well as
lessons on the ice,” Peverley stated.
Rich Peverley ’04, right, proudly displays
the Stanley Cup; with him is Associate
Head Men’s Hockey Coach Mike Hurlbut
’89, who was a member of the Saints’
coaching staff when Peverley was team
captain.
Lord Stanley’s History with SLU
While Rich Peverley is the first
Saint to win the Cup as a player,
four other alumni have spent time
with Lord Stanley:
◆ Ron Waske ’69 was trainer and
Bill Torrey ’57 general manager of
the New York Islanders team that
won the Cup four straight years
(1980-1983)
◆ Mike Keenan ’72 coached the
champion New York Rangers in
1994
◆ Ray Shero ’84 was (and remains)
general manager of the Pittsburgh
Penguins when they won in 2009.
Rich Peverley ’04 in
the uniforms of the Skating
Saints, top, and the Boston
Bruins in spring 2011,
on his way to a
Stanley Cup win.
Rich Peverley ’04:
First SLU Player to Hoist Stanley Cup
By Rachel Peterson Zinier ’04
Daniel
Hauser, Hauserworks.com