Trevor Shea takes roller hockey by storm
AMHERST, Mass. (BVM) — It’s not often that an average sports fan knows what roller hockey is. Even if they think they do, they might have it confused with roller derby. However, passionate hockey players like Trevor Shea know that there’s more to the sport than what’s shown on TV.
“I started ice skating when I was about two years old and rollerskating when I was five,” Shea said.
Ice hockey and roller hockey have the same basic concept, but both have their unique differences. Unlike traditional ice hockey that is played on skate blades, roller hockey is played on wheels and is also referred to as inline hockey.
Even though Shea learned to ice skate as a toddler in his hometown of Shrewsbury, Mass., he began gravitating towards roller hockey as his childhood progressed.
“Growing up in Massachusetts, ice hockey was very dominant among the regional community,” Shea said. “However, my dad operated his own roller hockey leagues locally which allowed me to have a place to skate and develop at a young age.”
Thanks to Shea’s dad introducing him to the sport of hockey, it gave him a better idea for which type of hockey he should pursue.
“Between ages ten and 15, I gained a large interest in roller hockey and decided to look out of state and find teams to play for in tournaments,” Shea said. “When I was about 15, I truly became a “rink rat” as I played in tournaments for the Tour Roadrunners out of New York.”
With his tournament experience and continued desire to play roller hockey at a high level, Shea went on to play two seasons of college roller hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. UMass Amherst was one of 26 different colleges that took part in the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (ECRHA) last season. The ECRHA encompasses colleges from Maine to Maryland and is one of six conferences within the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA).
In his inaugural season at UMass Amherst, Shea took home the Division II Rookie of the Year award after finishing with 21 goals and 40 assists in 19 regular season games. During that same season, Shea and his Minutemen club clinched the top seed in Division II and defeated West Chester University to win their first Regional Championship in program history. Shea went on to explain that winning the Division II Regional Championship in 2018-2019 is his favorite roller hockey memory to date.
“That season and more specifically that game in general was one of the strongest team efforts I had ever seen and been a part of in my hockey career,” Shea said.
This past season, Shea raised his game to an even higher level as he tallied 36 goals and 21 assists in just 16 regular season contests. As a result, Shea walked away with the Division II Player of the Year award and became the third player in ECRHA history to win Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in consecutive seasons.
Once again, Shea and his team reached the Division II Regional Championship game, but ultimately lost to Robert Morris University. During his two seasons at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Shea recorded a total of 86 goals and 86 assists in 57 games played.
As for Shea’s future in roller hockey, the current COVID-19 pandemic has halted any immediate plans. However, Shea remains optimistic and is looking towards the future.
“My goals are to play in my first pro division tournament and continue to play tournaments for as long as my body lets me, Shea shared. “I am planning on trying out for the United States National Team and possibly looking into playing professionally overseas, but I’m taking things one day at a time.”
