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Army Hockey Announces Derek Hines Night Saturday at Tate Rink
ARMY HOCKEY ANNOUNCES DEREK HINES NIGHT SATURDAY AT TATE RINK
Former team captain killed in Afghanistan to be honored before the game WEST POINT, N.Y. –
The Army hockey family will honor the memory of former Black Knight Derek Hines (USMA ’03) Saturday night before their game against Atlantic Hockey rival Holy Cross at West Point’s Tate Rink. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Derek Hines (Newburyport, Mass./St. John’s Prep) served as team co-captain his senior year and was a four-year letterwinner during his playing days at West Point. 1st Lt. Hines was killed in action in the district of Daychopan, Afghanistan during a fire fight with suspected Taliban leaders.
The Army hockey team will honor his memory in a brief ceremony before the game involving Hines’ surviving family.
Head coach Brian Riley will speak to the Army fans before the game.
In an open letter to the college hockey community shortly after the tragedy occurred, Riley wrote, “At 5-6 and 165 pounds, "Hinesy" was certainly not the biggest player when he stepped onto the ice. But when the game started, he played as big as anybody out there. As a result of his hard-working attitude, he was a fan favorite here at Tate Rink.”
Hines scored 12 goals and registered 20 assists for 32 career points in 119 games with the Black Knights. He returned to West Point in the spring semester of the 2003-04 season to serve as the hockey team’s athletic intern.
Army (6-11-3, 4-6-3 Atlantic Hockey) enters a two-game weekend series with Holy Cross on a two-game winning streak thanks to a sweep of league-leading Mercyhurst last Friday and Saturday at home. The Black Knights are now 5-1-1 at Tate Rink in 2005-06.
Quotes from Hines’ commanding officer in Afghanistan and Army head coach Brian Riley
Capt. Mike Kloepper (Derek Hines’ Commanding Officer)
“For those of you who knew Derek, you know well that he defined himself as an Army Hockey Player. And to him, in the paradigm of his own life, he quantified his hockey and athletic experiences as a set of great memories, memories that may have helped to shape who he was and what he did. But to me, a regular guy who had the opportunity to walk next to greatness for 12 short months, there should be no doubt, that the lessons and values that Derek Hines learned on the field of athletic competition absolutely shaped and sculpted him into one of the finest men I have ever known.
“Within a month of meeting Derek, it soon became absolutely apparent that he was a team builder. It was also immediately apparent that I had an Army hockey player on my hands – supremely competitive, absolutely fit, exceptional intelligence, with a work ethic that was unmatched.”
Brian Riley (Army hockey head coach)
“At 5-6 and 165 pounds, "Hinesy" was certainly not the biggest player when he stepped on the ice. But when the game started, he played as big as anybody out there. As a result of his hard-working attitude, he was a fan favorite here at Tate Rink. I know all college hockey fans would have loved to see Derek play for their team. You could not have asked for a better teammate than Hinesy. His biggest concern was always for his fellow teammates. Derek never put himself before the team, and as a result, was respected and held in the highest regard by everybody with whom he played. I know that every college hockey player would have considered it an honor to be a teammate of Derek's.”
