NHL

By JOSEPH LOVERDI ‘22 Sports Editor

Inormally hate the Chicago Blackhawks just because, well, they’re the Blackhawks. The Flyers fan in me hates them because of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, where their fairytale run to the final ended in a 6 game loss to Chicago; the Blues fan in me hates them because they’re our biggest rival. Yet the franchise has done something much more despicable than beat the two teams I like in the playoffs. A recent investigation conducted by law firm Jenner & Block found that the Blackhawks front office not only discussed the sexual assault of a player by video coach Brad Aldrich, but failed to do anything to protect that player. It also found that players knew about the assault and just didn’t do anything about it. The player in question is Kyle Beach, the 11th overall pick in the 2008 Draft. Beach was highly touted as a power forward coming out of the WHL, and soon began to flash signs of his potential in the AHL with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. In May 2010, Beach was sexually assaulted by Aldrich, just before the Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup. The assault, which Beach blames himself for to this day, led him down a spiral of substance abuse which ruined his young career. Beach was playing in Europe by 2014, and his NHL dream is now over at the age of 31. The entire Chicago Blackhawks organization, especially Stan Bowman, Al McIsaac, and Joel Quenneville, failed Kyle Beach. So did the NHLPA and Don Fehr, who turned their backs on Beach, failing to help him after he reported the assault to them in 2011. Current Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was a part of the aforementioned meeting, and was cleared by the NHL of any wrongdoing following an investigation as they claimed the thenassistant GM had no real power over the situation. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the team’s two best players, decided to speak on how good of a man Bowman was on October 28. They are LEADERS WITHIN THE TEAM, and they used a moment to show support to a horrible man who protected a serial sexual assaulter over a former teammate whose life was ruined by said assaulter. There has been some support, though. Beach named former teammates Nick Boynton and Brent Sopel as those who helped him and tried to get it fully investigated. Aly Raisman, one of America’s best gymnasts and a victim of Larry Nassar, has also voiced her support for Beach. Yet there have been no current NHL players to really speak out against this. Sure, current Blackhawks players Connor Murphy and Alex DeBrincat have agreed with the decision for those involved in the cover-up to leave, but no one outside of Taylor Hall, who called out hockey’s “old boys club” mentality in support of Beach, has really said anything regarding the scandal. The NHL’s handling of this has been awful as well. Gary Bettman’s recent public statements defending the NHL’s decision to fine Chicago a whopping $2 million were flat out disheartening and leads me to believe that he’s no longer fit to run the National Hockey League; it’s like he’s actively stifling league improvement. The NHL’s response to this was just completely baffling and in no way sufficient, leaving a stain on its public image that could take years to erase. If you had any reason to dislike not only Chicago, but the NHL as a whole, you do now. It’s clear the league doesn’t care about sexual assault and helping victims; rather it would protect those who commit such heinous acts and slap the teams that covered it up with a meager fine and a verbal warning. Completely and utterly shameful.

Former NHLer Kyle Beach, seen here playing for the Graz 99ers in Austria, was sexually assaulted by Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. Photo Credit: Aliura

Coach DeCoursey’s swim team looks to make a splash

By MATT CHOWANSKY ‘22 Entertainment Editor

When Ms. DeCoursey first arrived at Eastern as a teacher, she was determined to get involved in the leadership of Eastern’s swim team. She has had a passion for swimming ever since she was a child, and her love for the sport continued to grow over the years. Now, Ms. DeCoursey, who is a teacher in the science department, has been coaching the swim team here at Eastern for a few years, with plenty of success to her name. Under Coach DeCoursey’s leadership, the swim team has accomplished things that were never before achieved under previous leadership. DeCoursey’s ability to coach and effectively communicate with her team is no doubt a contributing factor to her reputation as a great coach. There are lots of rewarding things that come out of coaching a sport; the sense of pride, the leadership, and the chance for hardware at season’s end are among them. However, the most rewarding thing for Ms. DeCoursey is seeing her swim team become a family. “Seeing students find a place to belong and come together as a team. Win or lose, knowing students have a sense of belonging and have a place to enjoy themselves is definitely one of the best feelings ever,” she said. When Coach DeCoursey is not busy leading the swim team, she teaches over a hundred different students. It can be tough juggling the responsibilities of being Ms. DeCoursey during the day, and then swiftly transitioning to Coach DeCoursey. DeCoursey credits her two assistant coaches, Coach Murray and Coach Wojdon-Smith, who coach the girls’ and boys’ teams respectively. “We all help each other out and I know I can lean on them if I ever need to,” DeCoursey said. “Each of them has had to step up and run meets, or fill in to run a practice when I couldn’t be there.” Learning to let go of control is something that coaching the swim team for a long time has taught DeCoursey. “It’s not like other sports where you can sub a player if they’re tired or need a break. “Once the meet sheet is turned in, it’s up to the swimmers in the pool to do the rest,” the veteran coach said. “Not having the control to make switches can be hard, but I am learning to let go!” With DeCoursey, along with Coaches Murray and Wojdon-Smith at the helm of the swim team, there’s certainly nothing holding them back from greatness.

Flyers fire head coach Alain Vigneault in midst of losing streak

By JOSEPH LOVERDI ‘22 Sports Editor

The Philadelphia Flyers were hailed as potential playoff candidates heading into the 2021-22 NHL season. Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam Atkinson, and Ryan Ellis were all brought in, and an already strong core of Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, and Carter Hart was in place with a coaching staff led by Alain Vigneault, who led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Semifinals just two years ago. However, this season has gone worse than anyone has ever imagined it, and with the Flyers sat at 8-10-4, seventh in the Metropolitan Division and having lost seven in a row, a change needed to be made. And it came the day of a game, no less. On December 6, GM Chuck Fletcher announced that head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coach Michel Therrien had been fired following an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with former Blues and Wild head coach Mike Yeo, another one of Vigneault’s assistants, named interim coach. Yeo’s Flyers

tenure started with a wild 7-5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, with 7 goals scored in the first period alone. This was a change that needed to be made. The Flyers have now lost tem games in a row, ruining a fantastic start (84-2) that had seen them fighting at the top of the Metropolitan, arguably the toughest division in hockey alongside the Central, where four teams (St. Louis, Nashville, Winnipeg, Colorado) are separated by 4 points. The Flyers often looked listless and unable to fight back against far better teams like Tampa, Carolina, and the New York Rangers, which shouldn’t be happening to Flyers coach Alain Vigneault was fired alongside assistant Michel Therrien on December 6th, as the team was in the midst of a 10-game losing streak. Photo from Getty Images a team that supposedly has a future superstar goalie (Hart) and the best defensive center in the league (Couturier). Goaltending has been poor, as Hart and his backup Martin Jones let up 7 goals in back to back games. Overall, it’s hard to see the Flyers making the playoffs unless they get their heads straight. It’s been a tough season so far and nothing’s gone right; it’s hard to see Yeo turning it around as the Flyers just keep losing, although they have won two in a row with a big win against Vegas.