Young players soak in unique experience with Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.--In his 20th year as the NHL's Diversity Ambassador, Willie O'Ree continues to preach one simple message to the youth players he encounters around North America.
"I obviously tell them to set goals for yourselves," O'Ree said. "These boys and girls are the age that they can set goals for themselves and they can be anybody they want to be and there's no limitation."

That message continued to resonate with members of SCORE Boston and Snider Hockey from Pennsylvania on Sunday, when they were given a tour of Boston College and then were the guests of the Eagles for a 5-2 win against the University of New Hampshire.
The visit was part of a weeklong celebration of the 60th anniversary of O'Ree breaking the color barrier in hockey. On January 18, 1958, he made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens and went on to play 21 seasons of professional hockey.
SCORE and Snider, non-profit hockey organizations that receive support from the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, played in the four-team Willie O'Ree Invitational on Saturday. One day later, the kids, ages 6-14, got to see what life is like as a college hockey player.

In addition to touring the campus, the kids got to see the Eagles locker room and workout area.
"It's great to be here and see everything," Aaron Bryant, an 11-year-old from Roslindale, Massachusetts said. "Maybe I won't want to go to school here, but I definitely want to go to a school like this."

"They usually don't get to see all that kind of stuff," Aaron's mother Tina said. "Everything's so new and the kids are excited. It's fun to see."
SCORE Boston has had several success stories over the years, most notably Mike Cox, who played hockey at Avon Old Farms prep school before he switched to football and played at the University of Michigan, the University of Massachusetts and in the NFL. Many of the SCORE kids play with some of the larger high school hockey programs in the region.
There's both an athletic and academic component to being in the SCORE program and taking part in an even like the BC trip on Sunday.

"It makes them realize there's an opportunity to go to a school like this," SCORE president Wendell Taylor said. "They learn what it takes to go to a school like this and how [the school] supports everyone, they talk about financial aid. Our real goal here was to bring them to a place like BC, show them and be aspirational."
And, of course, the kids got to spend more time with the iconic O'Ree, who is an inspiration to them all.
"It's incredible to meet him," Aaron Bryant said. "Being black myself, it's awesome to meet him and get to know him."