Cover credit – University of New Hampshire Women’s Hockey Program
The month of March is Women’s History Month, which means we honor the contributions of women in history. As a passionate fan of female sports, I’ve chosen to highlight Long Island native, Sam Faber.
Long Island is home to a wealth of professional athletes born and raised here. My personal favorite is none other than Sam Faber. I typically refer to her as a Long Island Legend on most occasions. Faber is a Mount Sinai native who played ice hockey at the amateur, collegiate, international, and professional levels. Once she hung up her skates, Faber even joined the coaching ranks.
“They tried to get me on figure skates but that didn’t last very long. I was on hockey skates pretty quickly after that,” said Faber.
Growing up on Long Island at the time meant there weren’t too many opportunities to play competitive hockey, so looking elsewhere was the route to go for Faber. The first stop on her journey was the Northwood School, a preparatory school in Lake Placid.
“Probably the greatest decision that me and my family ever made for me. Honestly, I’m extremely grateful for my time there, it made me grow up a lot quicker and mature faster. There’s a lot of people along the way there like Tom Broderick [coach] who truly shaped me into the player that I became and really helped guide me to choose UNH as my college,” said Faber.
Usually, when you go to a prep school to play hockey, you’re destined to play Division I in college. This was the case for Faber as she went on to spend four years as a Wildcat at the University of New Hampshire. The power-scoring forward left her mark on the program, finishing fifth all-time in scoring with 189 points. She also accumulated some accolades along the way, having won rookie of the year, honored with UNH’s Karyn Bye award, and named a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-ten finalist, as well as various weekly honors.
“I didn’t really know what to expect going in, I realized quickly what a hockey school it was [UNH] and how much of a hockey community it really became. I was really lucky to have really good teammates for my four years, I don’t think everybody gets that opportunity. A lot of my success was because of the players surrounding me,” said Faber.
Currently, there’s a paid professional women’s hockey league in place for players to aim for post-graduation. For Faber, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League was only two years old when she finished college and they weren’t earning a paycheck. In her one season with the Boston Blades, she led the team in scoring with 30 points. In 2015, the National Women’s Hockey League was formed and Sam Faber spent three seasons with the Connecticut Whale. In her final season, she was named Captain of the Pod.
“I heard about the Whale when I was the hockey director at Chelsea Piers CT. It was a pretty easy decision for me to start training again and although I felt like I wasn’t the same player because I took five years off it still felt like I could contribute. It was a pretty cool experience playing in the NWHL and being a part of the first-ever team there and one of the first signees. I got to play with a lot of the players I played against in college, which I think is the coolest part. I think it [NWHL] really helped progress to what the PWHL is today, without that league, we wouldn’t have what’s going on today,” said Faber.
It’s always an honor to represent your country on the international stage. Faber sported the USA crest and won the IIHF Women’s World Championship in China in 2008.
There comes a time when the playing career winds down and the transition to coaching begins. A Long Island homecoming was in the cards for Faber, with LIU forming their women’s hockey team in 2019. Faber spent two seasons behind the bench for the Sharks as an assistant coach, helping them win the NEWHA championship in their inaugural season. Faber’s home away from home was calling her name, and with that, she returned to her alma mater and has been an assistant coach for the Wildcats ever since.
“When I first heard about it, I said, ‘This is perfect, I have two little nephews, I want to move back home and be close to them.’ I actually reached out to Rob Morgan because I heard he was going to be the first coach, as soon as I reached out he interviewed me right away and I was on board pretty quickly. It was definitely a different experience than I’m used to because I’ve never started a program before. The Long Island part of it was special, so it was very difficult for me to leave and go to UNH,” said Faber.
Sam Faber’s hockey IQ is top-tier, this quality is what made her successful on and off the ice. Not only was she a great hockey player, but she’s a phenomenal human being as well. Faber is spoken of highly by her peers in the hockey world. She cares about growing the game and helping the players grow both on and off the ice as athletes and people.
“It’s hard to put into words; it means everything to me and it’s because of my family and how supported I was by my family. I’m grateful, I’m humbled by it, and I also know it’s not me. I didn’t get here alone; I had great coaches and a great support system with my family. So, I’m honored by it definitely,” Faber told The Messenger on what it means to have come from Long Island.
Thank you, Sam Faber, for everything. Women’s ice hockey across the board is a better place with you in it. I can’t wait to see you as a head coach in the future.
