Every Hockey Night in Oswego, there are two teams ready to battle on the ice in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. But those two hockey teams would not be able to play the sport without the staff and equipment that maintains the ice surface.
There are a lot of individuals that make hockey games and practices happen on a weekly basis during the winter months. Bill Hammond is one of the current members of the ice maintenance crew that helps run the day-to-day operations, who is now set to retire after Whiteout Weekend.
Hammond is the rink manager and a trades specialist in the Marano Campus Center who was hired in 1997 as a janitor at Oswego State. After that, Hammond transitioned to his long-term role as rink manager in the Romney Field House, the home of Lakers hockey prior to the completion of the Marano Campus Center.
“It was home ice advantage tenfold,” Hammond said. “You can have three people have a conversation on one side and you can hear it clearly on the other side. When you filled the place up with a couple thousand people, it was loud.”
There were thousands of games that were played on the ice sheet in Romney. Hammond saw most of those games firsthand. Prior to the 2007 season, each round of the conference playoffs was a three-game series. One series Hammond remembers is the battle for the SUNYAC Championship back in the 2002-03 season.
“[Oswego State] was playing Plattsburgh State for the championship,” Hammond said. “Late in the third period, [Oswego State] scored a goal and won the championship. It was unbelievable. The students had all kinds of confetti on the ice. The fans made a little fake Stanley Cup and the players skated around with it.”
The legend of the Romney Field House was built on the atmosphere and games played during the time frame when the building hosted the ice rink. In October of 2006, the Marano Campus Center opened to the public and which has now become the new home for the hockey programs at the college. Hammond was a key part of the movement from one side of Route 104 to the other side.
“It was quite a transition,” Hammond said. “When we tried to lay the first sheet of ice down, we had contractors working above us, in the seat, and sometimes on the boards. It was a challenge putting ice down the first time, but it came out pretty good because Oswego State won the championship that year.”
The other new part of the 2006-07 season was the return of the Oswego State women’s hockey program. Diane Dillon, the former head coach of the team, helped bring back the program that year.
“Diane Dillon came in the last year we were in Romney,” Hammond said. “We sat down and discussed what her needs would be coming in with a new program. They got out on the ice here and were going pretty good and steady all along.”
Hammond’s love for the sport of hockey began prior to his time working for the Lakers. Being from Oswego, he played street hockey growing up in the city streets and remembered watching NHL games on the television.
“Not that many kids played,” Hammond said. “Most of the time you played the same kids unless someone could set up a game with people from Fulton. It was a lot of street hockey. We would play different neighborhoods on the tennis courts.”
Hammond was a fan of the Lakers growing up prior to taking his current position. The rink manager is set to fist bump the students for the final time on the glass against Plattsburgh State.
“I have been around the ice so many times,” Hammond said. “I cannot wait to go up on the railing and watch a game. It is every kid’s dream…but I think I have run my course in terms of driving the Zamboni.”
It is very fitting that Hammond will get to finish out his time with Oswego State during another Whiteout Weekend. A man who makes sure the rink is ready for players and fans can hand over the reins to take a seat and watch the Lakers battle to win for years to come.
Photo provided by: Bill Hammond
