Beyond the Ice: Getting Ready for the Season

A look at the Eagles Hockey locker room.

By Dylan Cyr ‘26

With winter just around the corner, the Wethersfield Eagles Men's Ice Hockey team begins their preparation for the upcoming season. Competing in Division II means the team faces a difficult and challenging lineup of teams, including South Windsor, East Catholic, Farmington Valley Co-op and many more. Preparing now is crucial to ensure success.                                  

Hard work starts well before the first puck drop of the season. “We try to get together and do any activities we can,” Head Coach Dennis Tulimieri Sr. says, “We’ve done a little bit of weight training, we’ve done a lot of leadership training with eight or nine players involved with that.”

Every Wednesday, the team meets at Newington Arena to train with Future Fitness, a fitness program run by professional sports trainer Pete Asadourian to help with conditioning. “We can’t get on the ice until the Monday after Thanksgiving.” Keeping the team together and working hard off the ice will translate into a good work ethic and fresh legs by the time the team is back on ice. 

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Coach Tulimieri on the sidelines SOURCE: NBC Connecticut

In his 40th season, Coach Tulimieri continues a tradition of involving a leadership council. Every Sunday morning, a group of returning players meet at the local cafe Max Bibo’s and talk about how to be a leader. Even though captainship isn’t promised, Coach Tulimieri believes that building up leaders, regardless of their title or lack of, will help support the team. “The core essence of a team is to develop a culture. If you don’t have a culture, you’re not going to have a team.”

As the season gets closer and closer, the team continues to work hard in hopes of having another successful campaign. From the work put in off the ice, to the chemistry built within the team, the preparation will help our Wethersfield Eagles have a good and successful season.

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