How exciting that my 100th blog post is about my beloved Boston University Terriers. I earned my undergraduate degree (BS (ha) in Photojournalism) from Boston University and spent a significant portion of my time photographing the men's hockey hockey team. I was able to photograph a lot of great players and a lot of great men out on the ice, got to see the transition to a new arena and my own transition to digital photography.
Some of my greatest friends, greatest moments and greatest memories are deeply rooted in the Boston University hockey tradition, and in honor of their appearance in tomorrow's NCAA National Championship game, I am posting images from my first full season covering the team as a sophomore and photographer with The Daily Free Press ("the independent student newspaper at Boston University").
These photos come from back when I shot with two rolls of 36-exposure film (ISO 1600) for an entire 60 minutes of hockey using a Canon Rebel (with absolutely no hint of a motor drive) and a 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom lens (think about that for a minute). These are from the days of Walter Brown Arena and Section 8, of Faro and Mags and Fieldsy. That season was a crucial part of my college experience for so many reasons and, even though it was far from being a year for the record books, I loved every second of it. When it was finally over, I was so moved by my time in the rink that I wrote an overly-schmaltzy editorial for the Freep (and when a college photographer voluntarily writes an article, that's really saying something).
So anyway, here are some of my favorite shots, scanned from the original negatives (which were mailed to me by a kind editor who noted that with the vast digital archive they now had, they never looked at the film archives, which is sad, because there are so many wonderful images hidden away in those neg sleeves). I've included captions and some of these captions contain jokes that are only funny to those who were there for them and I hope you can indulge me in not explaining them all just this once.
These images are a record of where I, as a photographer, truly began.
BU's David Van der Gulik nets a goal in over-time at the University of New Hampshire that gives BU a spot in the Hockey East Playoffs.
Whenever I think of my first season of BU hockey, this is the image that flashes in my mind.
Happy that the season isn't over yet.
Goaltender Sean Fields flashes his glove save at the University of Minnesota's Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.
Steve: "Hey, my parents had a layover here once."
Goaltender Sean Fields denies a shot from a BC Eagle at Conte Forum. (Remember the home & home against UNH at WBA when he let in 8 and shut them out the next night for the first time in several seasons?
...That was pretty awesome. (well, the second part))
UNH fans know their Hockey East history and come prepared to taunt Ryan Whitney and the Terriers about the 2003 quarterfinal mishap.
(I don't have the heart to recount that; just Google it.)
Freshman Eric Thomassian battles with a UNH player at Walter Brown Arena.
Captain Mark Mullen battles with a University of Toronto player as David Van der Gulik looks for the puck during an exhibition game in Walter Brown Arena to kick off the 2003-2004 season.
And let us not forget: BC sucks.
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