THE TRENTONIAN (N.J.)            OCTOBER 1, 2006

Flyers make special trip to Naval Academy

By Anthony J. Sanfilippo, Journal Register News Service

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- This time there was no drill sergeant forcing them to run in place while carrying an M-16 rifle.

There was no practice on the ice, or carrying each other up a flight of steps on their shoulder.

As a matter of fact, this time, their coach was nowhere to be found.

Instead, the 25 players still remaining on the Flyers roster began their day yesterday alone, in the woods, with the assistant coach of the U.S. Naval Academy hockey team guiding them on a rope course.

It was closed to the public, the media, the coaches, the trainers -- everybody.

Just 25 guys, working together as a team to accomplish a goal.

Then, after a filling lunch at the Academy’s mess hall, the players received a guided tour of the campus, visiting the World’s largest dormitory, and entering a hall dedicated to all the graduates of the Academy who lost their lives at sea.

It was a moving experience for the players, to see and learn what life is like on a daily basis for the Midshipmen -- especially for the American-born contingent, which of the 26 includes seven player: Robert Esche, Derian Hatcher, Mike Knuble, R.J. Umberger, Freddy Meyer, Niko Dimitrakos and Mark Cullen.

"It was pretty cool to come down and meet the guys here and see what they go through and how they live their lives and how they have to keep their rooms clean and all that stuff," said Dimitrakos, a Massachusetts native. "The ropes course was great. I had a blast. That was the highlight of the day for sure."

And it was a lot different than last season, when the team was put through the wringer in West Point, N.Y., challenged physically by the athletic training staff for the U.S. Army.

Instead of constant workouts, the players spent the late afternoon meeting with a psychologist before taking in a team dinner and then being left up to their own devices in the burgeoning downtown district of the capital of Maryland.

"It’s a reality check for us," said Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. "To understand there are people that make bigger sacrifices than we do is important for us -- to understand not just the level of sacrifice but the level of commitment that people make for something bigger than themselves.

"That’s the whole focus, to understand the history of the United States, because that’s where we live, we work and we play and the history is important no matter what (nationality) you are."

And Hitchcock was right. Nolan Baumgartner, a Canadian, was right in the front of the line during the tour asking questions.

Sami Kapanen, a Finn, was wandering through the memorial hall trying to figure out what boats certain flags hanging on the walls were flown on -- and smartly figured it out by counting the number of stars.

And Hatcher, an American, just soaked the whole thing in from a historical perspective.

"The history is neat," he said. "When you see all the names on the plaque in there it makes you think about all the people who have fought for this country, and the fact that they’re still fighting now."

The team will have one more team breakfast in Annapolis today before returning home.