- Class: 2016
- Years of experience: 7
- Sport: ice hockey
While several school sponsored sports take the spotlight, a community-sponsored ice hockey team that combines Marshall students with Lake Braddock provides hockey enthusiasts such as junior Stephen Arthur with the opportunity to play for their school.
Arthur began playing ice hockey at age nine when his uncle gave him a pair of skates for Christmas. From there, a passion for the sport ensued.
“I just love hockey and skating in general. It’s probably the best sport out there. You get to skate around and hit people,” Arthur said.
Ice hockey, an unofficial school sport, attracts minimum attention from the school community.
Arthur became involved with Marshall hockey after experiencing a lack of information about Marshall hockey as a new student.
“When I was an incoming freshman, I emailed Mr. Swarm and asked if Marshall had a hockey team. He told me that they didn’t, but did say [there was] a provisional team between Marshall and Lake Braddock,” Arthur said.
While the combined team is predominantly Lake Braddock students, Wes Hammerschmidt and Andrew McDonald also participate.
The team enjoys success, with an 8–2 record for the fall season, and a 1–2 record three games into the spring season.
Arthur wants to draw more spectators and help the team continue to grow and popularize ice hockey at Marshall.
“It’d be great to have students come out and support us. Sometimes, the other teams have a lot more fans than we do and it’s just our moms in the stands,” Arthur said.