RI hockey HOF inducts 2019 class

From STAFF REPORTS
Posted 10/8/19

FROM STAFF REPORTS Ten hockey greats recently became honored members of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame during formal enshrinement ceremonies on at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln. Also honored was Larry Reid, recipient of the annual Malcolm

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RI hockey HOF inducts 2019 class

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Ten hockey greats recently became honored members of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame during formal enshrinement ceremonies on at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln. Also honored was Larry Reid, recipient of the annual Malcolm Greene Chace Trophy awarded for “Lifetime contribution of a Rhode Islander to the Game of Ice Hockey”. The trophy is named after the Rhode Island native widely regarded as the “father” of ice hockey in the United States.

In his opening greeting, Hall of Fame chairman, Vincent Cimini, proudly noted, “This year’s class is a diverse group that spans the entire history of the game in Rhode Island. Among them are pioneers, visionaries, and innovators. In some cases, all of the above wrapped into one.

“We have a Hobey Baker winner, the architect of a Stanley Cup-winning team, an admired Hall of Fame trainer, an NHL record holder, decorated coaches, and some of the hockey community’s most highly-recognized and respected voices - dedicated to the game, as well as to promoting human dignity and equal rights.

“As players and as pillars of the game, they represent the very best of our state’s rich and illustrious 121-year hockey heritage.

“We conceived this Hall of Fame to be an investment in the future of Rhode Island hockey,” he said, “an inheritance of inspiration to future generations that hockey dreams really do come true.”

Video profiles highlighting the careers of each inductee preceded their enshrinements. Master of ceremonies, Dale Arnold, noted the significance of their achievements to the more than 300 attendees at the event. Warwick’s Todd Angilly opened the ceremonies with the singing of the national anthem.

The list of 2019 inductees are: DAVID EMMA

A three-time All-Stater at Bishop Hendricken and two-time All-American at Boston College, Emma is the Eagles’ all-time scoring leader. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s best collegiate player in 1991, the only Rhode Islander ever to do so. The pride of Cranston played for the U.S. in the 1992 Olympics.

MARGARET DEGIDIO ‘DIGIT’ MURPHY

After a great career as a player at Cornell, the Cranston native won 318 games as Brown’s women’s coach before taking the helm on the professional and Olympic levels. She has been a tireless advocate for women’s hockey and women’s sports for two decades on both the national and international stages.

JACK CAPUANO

An All-American defenseman at Maine, the Cranston native turned to coaching after playing for three NHL teams. He coached the New York Islanders for seven seasons and now serves as the associate head coach of the Ottawa Senators.

BROTHER ADELARD BEAUDET, S.C.

A founder of the iconic Mount St. Charles Academy hockey program, Brother Adelard helped organize and nurture high school hockey in Rhode Island after emigrating from Quebec in 1911.

BRIAN BOUCHER

Selected in the first round of NHL Draft in 1995 by the Philadelphia Flyers, the Woonsocket native and former Mount St. Charles goalie played 13 seasons in the NHL. He set the all-time NHL record with 5 straight shutouts and 332 consecutive scoreless minutes during the 2003-04 season.

BRIAN BURKE

Born in Providence, Burke grew up in Minnesota. He returned to Rhode Island to attend Providence College, where he was captain of the Friars’ hockey team. Now a studio analyst with Hockey Night in Canada, he has had a three-decade career as an NHL executive, building a Stanley Cup winner with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

MALCOLM GREENE CHACE

A world-class tennis and ice polo player in the 1890s, Chace eventually switched to ice hockey and introduced and championed the game in the United States and the Northeast. He is widely considered the “father” of ice hockey in the United States.

PETE DEMERS

After starting out with the Rhode Island Reds, Providence native Demers went on to serve 34 seasons as head trainer for the Los Angeles Kings. He has plaques in both the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and the US Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota.

JUDGE JAMES E. DOOLEY

A leading sports figure in Rhode Island, Dooley was the founder and owner of the Providence Reds, as well as a founder of the Canadian-American (Can-Am) Hockey League, which later evolved into today’s American Hockey League.

TOM ECCLESTON

Regarded as one of the game’s great teachers and innovators, Eccleston won multiple state championships as the coach of Burrillville High School. He later coached for eight seasons at Providence College, leading the Friars to their first ECAC title and to their first NCAA Final Four in 1964.

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