(Editor's Note: The Franklin Pierce women's ice hockey program may be going through its inaugural season at the collegiate level, but goalie Amelea Gray is no stranger to the collegiate game. She played two seasons at Hamline University and has brought a lot of good qualities, including leadership, to the program in 2012-13).

By Morgan Miller
Athletics Student Feature Writer

Women’s ice hockey junior goalie, Amelea Gray has brought experience and dedication to the inaugural season for the Lady Ravens.

The Bozeman, Montana native started her hockey career in third grade and has played ever since. Once Gray got to the highest level of hockey that she could in Montana, she decided to attend the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY. Not only did she play hockey, Gray furthered her passion for athletics by playing softball, soccer, and ran cross-country.

After playing hockey in New York, Gray got recruited to play hockey at Hamline University. There she played goalie and put up impressive numbers with 147 saves against 164 shots on goal her freshman year and 209 saves against 223 shots on goal during her sophomore year.

Before choosing to come to Franklin Pierce, Gray decided to take a year off from hockey and volunteer for Americorp in Lowell, MA. “I needed a little bit of a break and had been doing so much hockey my entire life,” she said. “I wanted to find my identity outside of that.” Gray expressed that she learned a lot from the experience and even got to teach GED classes at a youth center.

Gray was very excited to be a part of the inaugural season for the women’s ice hockey program at Franklin Pierce and couldn’t wait to be a part of something new. “I was really excited to create a new culture on a new team and to be a part of something that has never happened before,” she said.

With all of her previous hockey experience Gray brought skills and knowledge of the game and became a leader for some of the less experienced players. “Many of these new players have never experienced collegiate hockey and it has been nice to be able to experience that with them,” she said. “I am not really an outspoken leader, but I have been trying to lead the girls by example.”

The junior goalie has extremely high hopes and expectations for the remainder of the season. “We only have a couple games left, I just really want us to beat sacred heart. We’ve played them three times already and every game and each game has been really close,” said Gray. “I just want to end the season on a really good note.”

Although the Lady Ravens may not have a winning record in their first season, Gray stated that she couldn’t be happier with the outcome of this season.

“I am so proud,” she said. “We may not have the best winning record, but every game we’ve played has been really close and for a new program to come in and stand up to teams that have been in existence for years, that’s pretty awesome.