UMASS Lowell Underwater Hockey Tournament

This past weekend, there was an underwater hockey tournament in Montreal, Canada at the Olympic Pool in the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard. The picture below is a panorama of the pool where we played. UMASS Lowell's underwater hockey team, which I am a part of, was in attendance. Underwater Hockey is a relatively new sport that has drawn attention from all over the world. It is by far one of the hardest and most complex sports that I have ever played.

Underwater hockey is played with 6 players on each team, 3 forwards and 3 backs. Every player wears fins, headgear, a mask, a snorkel, and a glove while wielding a small hockey stick, which are all depicted below. These enable the players to be faster and breath easier. The puck is placed in the middle of the pool at the start and after each goal. The center forward is typically the striker, which means they race forward to get the puck before the other teams striker does. This is the position I play. The left and right forward race forward too, so that they can receive the pass from the center forward if they win the puck.  The other 3 players are the center, left, and right backs, who follow the forwards, in case the other team wins the strike or they prevent the striker from passing it to another forward. The players must cycle with one another so that they are able to defend and push the puck forward. Also, the players must push their lungs to their limits otherwise they could lose the game for their fellow teammates. Being where your teammate needs you to be is key to the game, but definitely the hardest part of underwater hockey to master. Their are two goals that are approximately 10 feet in length on opposite ends of the pool. The puck has to touch the back of the goal, which is about 6 inches from its front. These games are reffed so penalties do occur and there are penalty shots. A penalty gives one team an advantage while the other team has to be 3 meters away until the team with the advantage touches the puck. A penalty shot will occur if a player is prevented from scoring within one meter of the net. A penalty shot consists of one person from the team defending the goal and 2 people from the other team advancing the puck. The rules are quite simple, however the positioning on these plays and throughout the whole game are difficult to get a hang of.

Our UMASS Lowell team of 11 players headed off to Canada on Friday, November 15. We arrived that night and prepared for our long day of games on Saturday. In total the UML team played 6 games together. However, the women of the team got to play in an women's exhibition game, where we learned new drills and played against other women competing in the tournament, since underwater hockey is a predominantly men's sport. In the 6 games that we played, we lost all of them. However, considering that all the forwards playing for our team were new, including myself, our team did excellent. Some of the other teams that were playing had been together for 13 or 14 years. On Sunday, we had finals, and surprisingly we weren't seeded last but next to last. The team we versed was the Mercenaries, who had beat us 3-1 on Saturday, but ended up with a worse seed due to their sever losses against other teams. After the first half no one had scored, but right at the beginning of the second half our center back scored. We had to hold them off for another 6 minutes to advance into the finals. However, the Mercenaries got the puck in our zone and in our feats to stop them we gave them a penalty shot. They scored on the penalty shot with 2 minutes left. The game ended with a tie. Therefore, we had to play a round of sudden death, which is basically overtime. The mercenaries ended up winning, but our UML team did much better than expected. The picture below is of our team after we played our hearts and lungs out in the last game. We had learned a lot in our time playing and walked out with our heads held high, because of how well we did in regards to having 6 new forwards playing. UMASS Lowell's underwater hockey team is one of few college teams to compete in tournaments. By playing in these tournaments we bring a diverse name to our school, and get our school's name out across nations. Not many colleges have underwater hockey programs. It is one more thing the UMASS Lowell has over many colleges in America and the world. It is the funniest and hardest sport that i have played, but definitely the most rewarding. I was honored to represent UMASS Lowell at the underwater hockey tournament in Montreal this past weekend.

Boston and Maine Train Engine

Downtown Lowell hosts an old Boston and Maine Train. It was the first major railroad to ever run through the state of Massachusetts. The Boston Manufacturing company founded by Francis Cabot Lowell was the first textile company in Massachusetts to invest in a railroad company to transport their goods. With the different season in New England, transportation of goods became a huge problem when there were excessive amounts of snow or rain, so that companies were late or could not deliver their goods to their costumers.

The first set of tracks was laid from  Boston to Lowell. It was constructed with a granite bed of rock as the base. However this made the tracks too firm so that the railroad cars would bounce around too much and jolt so that every night the train cars would need to be repaired. The Boston and Lowell Railroad Company decided to change the design of their railroad tracks, and they used wooden railroad ties so that they would not have to make as many repairs. 

The Boston and Lowell Company was very successful in the amount of goods that they transported, despite the troubles with the railroad tracks. However, they did not expect to be so popular among transportation for the public. They were. The profit from the people that they transported rivaled that of the goods that they transported. Thus the company created another railroad for transportation of the public in 1842. This railroad made 6 stops rather than the straight shot to Boston from Lowell or vice versa. The popularity of the company's transportation made them a highly competitive company.

With the company's success, the Boston and Maine Railroad was formed. It took a long time to construct this railroad, because it extended from Portland, Maine to Lowell, Massachusetts, where it would then use Boston and Lowell's railroad. With all the extra traffic the Boston and Lowell line became congested. In response, the Boston and Maine Railroad company made another line that went from Haverhill, MA, which was already a stop for the Boston and Maine Train, to Boston. With the loss of the Boston and Maine Railroad Company the Boston and Lowell Company began to loose business, especially since they were no longer renting the lines to Boston and Maine. Eventually, the Boston and Maine Railroad Company leased Boston and Lowell to save them from their crashing business. 

For quite awhile after the Boston and Maine Company leased the Boston and Lowell Company things were going well, and business was steady. However with the invention of the automobile and highways, the train were no longer a primary means of transportation for most people. Freight was also being brought around the country by truck. Boston and Maine's business began to decline. Eventually the commuter rail run by the MBTA sprung up. Boston and Maine trains were used for this but the MBTA bought the company. After sometime Boston and Maine Railroad Company went bankrupt and allowed the MBTA to use their own trains. However, the MBTA does still use some of the Boston and Maine Company's lines.

The Boston and Maine Train Engine in downtown Lowell, MA signifies a period of great success that was centered and operated out of Lowell.  The train is in front of Lowell's National Park to commemorate the success and importance of the companies to Lowell's success during the industrial revolution, and later years. Also, it serves as a reminder that Lowell was one of the first city in Massachusetts, and for that matter in America, to have a railroad. Their innovation in creating the line from Lowell to Boston was key to the success of many textile companies in the Lowell area during the Industrial Revolution. Now since the train that run through Lowell are mostly passenger based, the Boston and Maine Train is a great way to remember the significance that the Boston and Maine and the Boston and Lowell Railroad Companies played in the Industrial Revolution and the start of railroads in America.