On Thursday, Oct. 21, the Rye Rangers surprised longtime club president Eric Bommer with the 2021 Rye Rangers Good Skate Award ahead of his squirt practice at Rye Playland. Bommer, who was joined by wife Lizzie and children Mackay, Reese, Lachlan, and William, was honored for his longtime service as a coach and club official, particularly in steering the club through a challenging 2020-21 pandemic season.
From left: William, Mackay, Reese, Lachlan, Lizzie and 2021 Rye Rangers Good Skate Award winner Eric Bommer
2021 Good Skate winner Eric Bommer with past winners
Also on Thursday, the program honored two longtime players, Reece Dorfman (left) and Kevin Francella with Rye Rangers Scholarships for their exemplary tenures as players and leaders in the program.
Rye Rangers Award winners Reece Dorfman and Kevin Francella
On December 15, 2001, the Rye Rangers staged a memorial hockey game and fundraiser for the families of the three members of the club who died in the tragedy at the World Trade Center. These individuals are Tommy Palazzo, Teddy Maloney, and Ward Haynes. The day was a huge success.
At the Rye Rangers Memorial Cup, we dedicated an award called the “Good Skate Award.” What struck each of us as we remembered our friends was how genuinely good they were, how helpful they were to their friends, how loving they were with their families, and, generally, how much fun they were to be around. In rink jargon, each one was what you might call a “good skate.” A black granite trophy with an imbedded silver skate was created by one of our members, Gerry Baum, to remind us of this goodness and to inspire us to be better individuals.
The inscription on the Good Skate Award states that it is to be: “Presented annually to the member of the Rye Rangers Hockey Club voted by his/her peers as best epitomizing the human goodness of these special individuals. It shall be forever known as the “Good Skate Award.” Its enduring legacy is to serve as a reminder that we are all better human beings for having shared our lives, both on and off the ice, with these guys.”