01945 Winter 2018_V3

WINTER 2018-19 | 19
New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider (35) stops a shot by Detroit Red Wings center Luke Glendening (41). PHOTOS: AP/PAUL SANCYA
Jersey fits Schneider
BY STEVE KRAUSE
appearances in the NCAA finals.
Unfortunately for him, the Eagles lost
both games — to Wisconsin in 2006 and
Michigan State the following season.
"It was still a good experience," he
said. "There was a lot I learned about
facing that kind of pressure, and big-game
experience. The exposure was good, too.
"You only get so many opportunities
to shine. You have to embrace as many of
them as you can."
Schneider maintained his academic
standing in college — so much so that
he was named to two Hockey East
All-Academic teams. He also earned
the Paul Patrick Daley Student-Athlete
Scholarship in 2006.
In 2004, just as he was getting out
of high school, Schneider was the No. 1
draft choice for the Canucks, and joined
the organization in 2008.
By 2010, he was with the parent club
on a full-time basis, backing up Robert
Luongo.
Even though he grew up in Bruins
country, Schneider admired New York
Rangers goalie Mike Richter because of
his success as an American goalie (he
wears Richter's No. 35 now).
Schneider saw action twice in the
2011 Stanley Cup final, including once at
TD Garden when
the Bruins went out
to a big lead right
away in Game 6.
"That was a
tough series allaround,"
he said.
"I kind of felt it
from both sides. I
grew up here, but
I certainly wanted
our team to win.
"The Bruins
were a great team,"
he said, "and they
won."
One thing
he was happy to
experience growing
up here was the
passion the sport
brings out.
"It's great to
see," he said.
He is also be grateful to the
Marblehead Youth Hockey program for
helping in his development.
"Guys like Phil Somersby (whose son,
Doyle, played for Boston University and
is now part of the Columbus Blue Jackets
Organization), they were great to me.
your space?
How will you reclaim
"It's kind of
weird to see Doyle's
now playing in
the pros," said
Schneider. "I
remember the day
he was born."
He credits Joe
Pickering with
turning him into
a goalie, and has
a soft spot in his
heart for the late
Howie Doliber, a
former Marblehead
High coach.
"He was the salt
of the earth," said
Schneider.
For now,
Schneider's goal is
to get his timing
down and earn his
way back onto the ice.
"It's different now," said Schneider, who
lives in Short Hills, N.J., with his wife, Jill,
and two children. "There's no No. 1 and
No. 2. With the games the way they are,
everybody's going to play, and you have to
earn your way onto the ice. Coaches are
going to ride that hot hand."
There's nothing quite as unsettling in
professional sports as an injury.
Ask Marblehead native Cory
Schneider.
Schneider has worked diligently to
climb up the professional hockey ladder.
After playing at Boston College, he did a
minor league stint and then a backup gig
for the Vancouver Canucks that included
appearances in two Stanley Cup final
games against the Boston Bruins.
Five years ago, he got the break he
had been looking for when he moved
from the Canucks to the New Jersey
Devils, where he blossomed. Two years
ago, playing 60 games, he had a goalsagainst
average of 2.82; and last year, in
only 40 games, it was 2.92.
The reason for playing 20 fewer games
last year was not due to poor play; he
got injured. Specifically, he had a torn
labrum, something he calls "a wear-andtear
injury."
This meant surgery, rehab, and a late
start to this season. He's just getting back
into the swing of things.
"I was just cleared to play a week or
so ago," said Schneider, who was still
rounding into shape in mid-November,
having started three games and lost them
all.
Schneider was a rink and a pond rat
growing up in Marblehead. But, oddly
enough, he didn't exactly dream of
playing in the National Hockey League.
"Things happened fast," he said. "One
day, I'm skating on Redd's Pond, and
now, here I am. I never really had time to
think about it, or plan it, or dream about
it.
"I always loved the game. And I had a
lot of fun playing it."
Schneider spent his freshman
season at Marblehead High, where
he said he enjoyed the experience of
playing Magician hockey. After that,
he transferred to Phillips Academy in
Andover.
"I got a good education there, and
I played better hockey," he said. "And
things broke right for me there, too."
His diligence paid off. As a senior,
he received Phillips-Andover's Yale
Bowl and the Boston Bruins' John
Carlton Memorial Trophy — both
for achievement in scholarship and
athletics.
Schneider enrolled at Boston College
in the Carroll School of Management —
a major he has since parlayed into being
part-owner of the "Stop It!" goaltending
school where he first learned to play in
the nets as a child.
At BC, Schneider backboned the
Eagles to a Beanpot championship
in 2007, and led the school to two
headboards
kitchen islands
accent walls
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