Growing up on a lake in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Plattsburgh State junior forward Connor Gorman grew to love the game of hockey by playing with his cousins since he was 3 or 4 years old.
Gorman didn’t have grandparents or parents that played the game, and his cousins stopped playing when they were in high school.
Gorman went to Shrewsbury high school and then transferred to prep school in upstate New Hampshire at the New Hampton School, where he repeated his junior year.
He then continued on to juniors with the Monarchs in Manchester, but before that he went on a trip to Russia.
“My favorite memory in hockey has to be traveling to Moscow with an all-expenses-paid trip the summer before playing juniors with the EJHL, the league I played in, All-Stars,” Gorman said. “Fifty people showed up to the tryout and they picked 20 guys, and we went out to Russia to play against the Red Army and a couple pro teams in Moscow, so that was a pretty unbelievable experience.”
The tournament was a junior world cup and Gorman and his team were able to play against Lativia, the Czech Republic and Russia. Gorman’s team played one game against each team in the preliminary round, getting beaten badly by the Red Army.
“They had eight or nine guys from the world junior team, so they were really, really talented,” Gorman said. “It was cool, it was sort of tournament style, about 12,000 fans at every game, kind of a pro atmosphere, so it was real neat.”
Gorman came to Plattsburgh State because of the hockey program, the academics, and PSUC’s distance from home, being four and a half to five hours away.
Gorman said one of his best memories here at PSUC was winning the PrimeLink tournament last year at home. He said he is looking to create some more memories and win a SUNYAC championship.
Two of his best friends at PSUC are junior forward Kevin Emmerling, who is also his second cousin, and junior defender Rich Botting.
They both said Gorman is a hard worker on the ice and the type of player who will work hard to get to the puck and help his team anyway he can to get a win. Emmerling said Gorman is a well-rounded player who has the skill and grit to bring a well-rounded mix to the game.
They both also said that Gorman is an energetic person who always wants to have fun. Botting told a story of Gorman from freshman year at a Bruins playoff game that shows his enthusiasm as a person.
“We got tickets way up top somewhere and he was the one up there getting the whole crowd on the top floor going, raising his hands, just getting everyone fired up,” Botting said. “It really is a good example of his personality.”
Emmerling tells about a different side of Gorman, his obsession with his hair. Emmerling said Gorman is always looking in the mirror and fixing his hair.
The other day, Gorman told Emmerling a story of how he went to the barber and his hair wasn’t cut right, so the team has been giving him crap for it ever since.
When they were younger, Emmerling and Gorman played together as teammates before Gorman went away for school in New Hampshire. The two lost touch because of the distance until they both came to PSUC as freshmen.
“I was his roommate last year, I’m his roommate this year again, so I’ve been able to spend a couple good years with him,” Emmerling said. “They always say college is your best years, so to be able to experience it with a kid like Connor is always a fun time.”
Email Nick Topping at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com.
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