Spring break is bittersweet for Auburn native Joe Dumais.
There isn’t much hockey being played on South Padre Island, Texas. That’s the bitter.
The fact that Dumais gets to spend a week there after a successful hockey career at Quinnipiac University? That, on the other hand, is sweet.
“I just booked the tickets this morning,” said the St. Dom’s grad. “We were hoping to go to Albany (New York), but this will have to do.”
Dumais and the rest of the Quinnipiac seniors shocked the ECACHL when, in the first round, they led the Bobcats to a two-game sweep of Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute. Qunnipiac was the 10th seed in the tournament.
The Bobcats then took Game 1 of their best-of-3 series with No. 1 Colgate in shutout fashion. Dumias scored the team’s first goal, the game-winner.
“That play, coach had just put that in the day before,” said Dumais. “There was 10 seconds left in the first period, and he sent us out there. Mike Bordieri won the face-off right to me, and I shot through the screen and it went right in.”
Colgate rebounded with goaltending to take Games 2 and 3 by a combined score of 9-3 despite 63 shots by the Bobcats.
For Dumais, this final season had many more sweet moments than bitter.
“When we beat Harvard and Dartmouth that first week of the season, that was huge,” said Dumais. “We were new in the ECACHL this year, and no one expected us to beat either one of them, never mind both in one weekend. The Hartford Civic Center, where we played, was packed with all Quinnipiac fans all in yellow. It was amazing.”
And then there were the points. Dumais admits his role with the Bobcats this season was never to score.
“We had a lot of amazing freshmen this year,” said Dumais. “As a senior, I helped bring them along, get used to school.”
But, Dumais did finish the season with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points, his highest total in four years at the Connecticut school.
“It’s nice, and I had some big ones, but that wasn’t really my role, and that’s OK.”
Also sweet for Dumais was wearing an A’ on his jersey, an honor he said “meant a lot.”
“That’s voted on by the rest of the team,” said Dumais. “Especially since it was our first year in the ECAC, that was special.”
Dumais is still weighing his options for next season. After his trip to South Padre Island, Dumais will finish school at Quinnipiac and graduate with a sociology degree.
“I want to go on and get my masters,” said Dumais. “I’m hoping I can get in somewhere where I can coach as a grad assistant.”
The thought of playing in Europe has also crossed Dumais’ mind, but coaching is really where his heart seems to lie.
“The last four years, I’ve been working at a lot of camps, and I really like working with kids,” said Dumias. “That’s the goal.”
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.