Ten years can go by in the blink of an eye.
“Obviously, you’re never thinking about reunion 10 years down the line from when you're playing that game,” said Mat Bodie, a defenseman for the 2014 Union men’s hockey team. “But this group of guys really deserve to be able to have these kind of reunions.”
A decade sometimes feels just like yesterday. For Bodie and his teammates, April 12, 2014, is a day they’ll never forget.
“It makes it feel young in a sense that you get back together with all these guys during your best times of your life – college,” said Shayne Gostisbehere, a defenseman for the 2014 Union men’s hockey team.
The team made one of the most memorable runs in sports history. A small upstate New York college team with no athletic scholarships, doing the unthinkable in the Frozen Four, defeating powerhouse Minnesota 7-4 to win the NCAA Division 1 National Championship.
“No one outside our room, I think, truly believes we were a national championship team,” said Bodie, who captained the team that finished the season on a 17-game unbeaten streak.
“People don't see the 4 a.m. workouts, all of the lifts we were doing, all the hard work we put in in the summers to get to where we were, and to get to the pinnacle and get to the peak of what we were trying to do,” Gostisbehere said.
Gostisbehere and Bodie are just some of the players coming back to the Capital Region on this July weekend for this reunion. Union is commemorating the 10-year anniversary by having players sign a steel plate for the new arena at Mohawk Harbor, which is the new home for the Garnet Chargers hockey program.
“Union always gave us the resources to succeed,” Gostisbehere said. “And I think that they're just doing that and continuing it.”
“It’s so cool that we were able to win because we get to do stuff like this,” Bodie said.
It’s one of several celebrations throughout this summer weekend, which also includes a golf tournament and race at the Saratoga Race Course named after the 2014 team.
“It’s pretty emotional, just getting back to that and seeing everybody, because I haven't seen a lot of guys in 10 years or less,” said Mike Vecchione, a forward for the 2014 Union men’s hockey team.
After all the confetti fell, some entered the workforce, while others continued their hockey career at the professional level. That includes Daniel Carr and Gostisbehere, who both played several seasons in the NHL.
“So much happens on the ice with hockey program, but the school prepares you for life after and experiences, not even athletics,” Gostisbehere said. “Just in the business world or in the world in general.”
“Getting that ultimate goal completed, I think it helped everyone move forward in life, and on the ice and off the ice,” Bodie said. “Stick with it, and you can overcome any kind of odds.”