PHOTO BY SGT. JONATHAN G. WRIGHT
Sgt. Thomas Adams prepares to receive a pass during the Maine event, Battle on Ice hockey tournament.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Sgt. Thomas Adams, a Lynn native and Marine stationed in Hawaii, traveled more than 5,000 miles to play in a tournament with his 15-man Marine Corps ice hockey team for the first time.
The all-Marine team played in the weekend-long International Fire, Police and Military Winter Games hockey tournament held in Lewiston, Maine.
“The last time I was in this neck of the woods was during leave and before heading out to Hawaii, which was almost two years ago,” said Adams. “When this opportunity came up, I jumped at the chance.”
“I love the sport and I love the Marine Corps. Being able to represent both parts of my life at once means a lot to me,” he said.
Adams, who was born and raised in Lynn, was introduced to hockey at the age of 3 and continued to play throughout his childhood. He continued to play after completing high school and becoming a Marine.
“(At) every school I was at, I was on their ice hockey team,” Adams said. “No matter if I was sick or had bad grades or whatever, I could get on the ice and let it all go away. I felt free skating around.”
Adams played on a varsity ice hockey team at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, eventually becoming team captain.
Opportunities to play on the ice became scarce during his two deployments to Afghanistan. After being sent to Hawaii, he began playing in a local adult league and coaching three separate youth hockey teams.
Adams came across an advertisement by Maj. Scott Kleinman, team coach and operations officer for Marine Corps Western Recruiting Region, requesting applications for an unofficial Marine ice hockey team.
Kleinman approached the Marine Corps three years ago with the intention of establishing an official all-Marine team, similar to the all-Marine football team. However, Kleinman was told that due to financial concerns, it could not be supported.
“I wasn’t going to stop there,” said Kleinman. “There is a lot of interest in a hockey team from players across the Marine Corps, so I was still going to see my goal through.”
Kleinman received 40 applications from Marines across the country.
“Hawaii, Alaska, South Carolina, Virginia, California, all coming together out of this common interest to play and represent the Marine Corps through sport,” said Sgt. Tyler Bluder, an aviation ordnance technician out of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Ft. Worth, Texas.
“We all took leave in conjunction with each other to make up this team to play this weekend,” Bluder said before the game. “We haven’t even been together for 24 hours and we’re about to take on our first game.”
The team is self-funded and each team member is responsible for travel expenses from his respective station to team events. Adams purchased airfare and lodging between Hawaii and Maine for the weekend-long tournament.
“That’s how much we want to see this team work and become something bigger,” said Adams. “We get to do what we’re passionate about and represent the Marine Corps in areas that may not have a Corps presence.
“There’s a unique camaraderie in both the Marine Corps and the hockey community,” Adams said. “Not having played with each other before is more of a formality at that point. We instantly meshed and worked with each other’s skills.
“I have hopes for the team and I’m excited to help take this as far as it can go,” he said.
Planning for future tournaments for the team to participate in has already begun and Adams said he intends to attend as many as possible.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected].