By Alexander Gilbert
Western New England University’s women’s hockey team is full of strength, passion, friendship, and drive, and the 2024 graduating seniors are the ones who started it all. They were the first female players to step out onto the ice and represent our University back in 2020, and now they’re passing the torch to the next line of athletes.
The hockey team consists of eleven seniors, with ten out of the eleven being the first female hockey players starting out in their freshman year. They grew a completely new team while facing two years of COVID-19 restrictions and protocol, studying intense college courses, and adjusting to living on campus for the first time. It’s not easy being a student-athlete due to grueling early morning practices and lack of free time outside of sports, but these women were determined to succeed, above all odds, in both academics and on the ice.
Natalie Parker, one of the eleven senior hockey players, has come a long way since joining the team during her freshman year. She said she has “grown the most over the past four years here compared to any other time in my life,” becoming “stronger both mentally and physically.” Over her four-year journey, she has excelled in many areas of athletics, academics, and leadership. Parker is a Peer Advisor, a Math Center Tutor, worked in the law center, and volunteered at health services. Her hard work led to her earning the Skookum award, all-conference honors, Omicron honor society, and success on the ice.
Parker describes the team as a lively bunch, regularly seen traveling around campus in packs, lugging their hockey bags, fueling up at the dining hall, or pushing through intense workouts at the gym. She is fond of every team member, calling everyone “selfless, kind, hardworking, and genuine.” The team that went from strangers to friends now feels like a tight-knit family, who all push each other to strive for more, both in life and in athletics. All the players were selected by their coach, Katie Zimmerman, who, according to Parker, “recruited the most talented, kind, hardworking players across the country.”
Another senior on the team is Maddy Tucker, who plays defenseman and is majoring in Sport Management. Wearing her number 19 jersey with pride, Tucker excels at hockey and is always working towards improving. When coming in as a freshman during the first year of the WNE Women’s Hockey program, she “had no idea what to expect in terms of competition, practice and skill,” but she knew she could do it. She explained that through positive coaching from Zimmerman and a powerful drive to succeed, she “gained more and more confidence” and “impressed myself with what I have done and continued to do.” Balancing coursework and long hockey practice schedules is difficult, but Tucker has managed to find the time to learn new material while regularly working on her hockey skills.
On Saturday, February 10, during the last regular season game at the home rink, Olympia Ice Center, the women’s hockey team recognized the four years of hard work of their graduating seniors. Senior Day brought together the families, friends, and fans of the women’s hockey team to support the seniors while they faced off against Curry College Colonels. Tucker, ready to celebrate the achievements of her and her teammates, “went into the day preparing to enjoy every second of it, despite the outcome of the game.” The locker room was decked out in blue and gold decorations, and the seniors were welcomed onto the ice, joined by their families.
Having their families there by their side was very meaningful for the players. Tucker’s parents have always been her biggest supporters, saying that “they have always pushed me to be my best on the ice and in the classroom” and that she appreciates “all of the sacrifices they have made for me to be where I am today.”
Parker explained that “it definitely takes a village to succeed in both hockey and academics” and that she is extremely thankful for all the support from her family and friends. She noted that her friends Helen, Jill, Caeli, and senior teammate Abby Hay were some of her biggest supporters, keeping her positive and motivated.
For Parker, “senior night was nothing short of emotional.” The college years are a small period of time but a large period of growth, and her teammates were with her throughout it all. Nine out of the ten other seniors have been on the team with Parker since her freshman year, but she has known the other senior who joined the team her sophomore year since they went to high school together. The team “knows everything about each other,” and there is no one that she “could not trust or go to for advice.” Senior Night was a moment to remember all their accomplishments, such as scoring goals, winning games, and securing third place over UNE, but also all the good times in between. They recalled memories of hanging out on the ice and the bench, laughing during early morning practices, and living on campus, and truly recognized the strong bonds formed between teammates and friends. Parker feels so close to her team that she says, “I tear up when thinking I won’t see this group every day, and I could write a whole book on each one of them, and how they have positively affected my life.”
Parker will be ending her hockey career after graduating college and will focus on studying at medical school with the goal of becoming a surgeon. Tucker plans on earning her master’s in Organization Sports Leadership here at Western New England University but is currently unsure if she will continue to play hockey after graduation.
