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03/08/2022 11:00 PMWhen Shane Considine was younger, he made it a point to attend all of his brother’s ice hockey practices and games. Shane’s older brother Tyler served as a role model for him, and now Shane can’t get enough hockey.
Shane is in his junior season as a member of the Guilford boys’ ice hockey team. Shane suits up as a defender for the Grizzlies and is also leading the squad as an alternate captain.
“I have been playing hockey since I was four years old, so about 13 years. I got into hockey because my older brother played hockey, and I was always at the rink watching him play,” says Shane. “When I was younger, I used to walk pigeon toed, and the doctor recommended that skating would help fix how I walked.”
Shane has been making a big impact for Guilford on both ends of the ice as a defenseman this winter. Shane has scored 10 goals to go with 12 assists for the Grizzlies, who have qualified for the Division II State Tournament.
Shane felt that Guilford went through bit a rough patch during the middle of the season, but he was happy to see his team get back on track and notch a few victories heading into the playoffs.
“Going into this year I was very anxious and had high expectations for this team. We are an experienced team with a lot of upperclassmen. Just looking at the names of the players on the team, I could see us being a top competitor in our league,” Shane says. “However, after a good early start to the season, we started to go downhill a bit as a team and lose a bit of chemistry and didn’t always come ready to play. As a team, we quickly realized what we had to do as individuals and as a team to start winning again.”
Shane believes that Guilford started to play to its potential during the home stretch of the regular season. Shane says that the Grizzlies showed how good of a team they can be if they come ready to work as one collective unit. Guilford is facing Lyman Hall in the first round of the Division II State Tournament this week.
“We have playoffs coming up, and we are seeded against a very talented Lyman Hall team. Going into this game, we know that the season is on the line, so we know what we have to do to win and continue the season,” says Shane. “Going into the season, I wanted to make sure that the seniors had a good and memorable season, considering it could be their last season of hockey. As a team, I think that we all want to succeed and win, especially for these seniors.”
Head Coach Ralph Russo sees Shane’s transformation throughout the past three years as sensational. Russo says that Shane has evolved into one of Guilford’s top players on both offense and defense.
“Shane has played well as the leader of our defense. He has been a big part of our offensive and defensive play. He is a great competitor and has taken a more assertive role as a motivator as the season has progressed,” Russo says. “Over the past three seasons, Shane has continued to show improvement in all aspects of his play. It’s great to see that he is also a really good student.”
Shane’s relationship with Coach Russo has blossomed during his time with the team. Shane enjoys talking strategy with Russo, who also gives him solid life advice whenever he needs it.
“I talk to him a lot about hockey and strategy for the team. We talk a lot about what to do to make the team better and how we can make the season more fun,” Shane says. “We have also talked about things outside of hockey, such as what I want to do for college and career choices. As a high school teacher, coach has given me advice for what classes I can take that relate to my interests in careers.”
While there are times when he has to show tough love as an alternate captain, Shane embraces the relationships that he’s created with teammates. One of Shane’s best friends is senior captain Mike Torre, with whom he’s been playing hockey since he was 11 years old. Shane also credits the sport for bringing him and his brother closer together.
“When I played youth hockey, I played for several teams and made a lot of friends along the way. I am fortunate to play with some of them still and even against them on other teams. The relationships and friendships I have formed from hockey are like none other I have,” says Shane. “I was very lucky to play with my brother Tyler my freshman year. Before we played together, we weren’t that close. We were just your average siblings. But by the end of the season, he was more of a friend than my brother. Hockey made us become very close.”
Shane feels glad that the 2022 season has seen a return to normalcy for his hockey squad. As a freshman, Shane’s season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then last year, no spectators were allowed in attendance, impacting the atmosphere at the rink. Now, Shane feels grateful for every moment that he’s out there on the ice and is preaching to his teammates to never take a game for granted.
“Before every game this year, we would tell each other that this could be the last game of the season and that we don’t know if the season would get shut down,” Shane says. “This made every game more special and made us want to play it like it was our last.”