“I liked hitting, but not a baseball…I liked hitting people!” – Ken Roberge
That quote pretty much sums up the feeling and attitude of one of the best hockey players to have ever played the sport in this city.
Those words came from Queen City Athletic and Memorial High School Halls of Fame member, Ken Roberge, the subject of this week’s Manchester Ink Link WATN story.
IT ALL STARTED WITH…
While he went on to become the consummate “puck-pusher,” his athletic career didn’t begin with a rubber disc. It began with a baseball.
Ken was a member of Central Little League, playing under the watchful eye of Archie Pappas. After taking a year off (said the sport was boring), he returned for two more with the Lions.
Passed up by coaches in the Pony League Baseball Draft, Babe Ruth coaches Don Beleski and Eddie Houle saw talent in him and he was picked by them as a 13 year old. His ability with a glove, bat, and a ball allowed him to end up playing alongside Colin Burke, Danny Ryan, Ben Boucher, and John Langella.
Still looking for more, Ken skipped the next two years of Babe Ruth and joined the newly formed Colt League, playing for well-known mentor, the late Hal Williams.
…EVEN TRIED PIGSKIN
Reminding you that he liked to hit people, Ken also played some football. He was a member of the Manchester Vikings under the direction of Bob Lawrence, Wally Rozmus, Norm Cormier, and Mike Dann (all celebrated athletes themselves).
He would have continued playing at Memorial had it not been for a “rule” stated to him by the head of the varsity coaching staff that “if you play for anybody else as a freshman, you can forget about putting on the Crusader uniform.”
Liking where he was, and NOT liking what he had been told after all the time he had spent with the Vikings, his football career came to an unfortunate end.
AND THEN CAME…
Though he had the talent to play both baseball and football, neither beckoned to him like the one he loved, the one that would make him a household name in high school sports.
He turned to HOCKEY.
Starting at the “Junior” level, he remained there through his freshman year at Memorial. Though he could have joined the high school Junior Varsity squad (and possibly spent a little time with the varsity), with the junior level he could play at least 60 games and opted to continue at that level for one last year.
It should be noted here that there was another factor that made the decision making a little easier.
THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION…AND A CHAMPIONSHIP
“The ’74 – ’75 Manchester city champion team was loaded with talent the likes of Doug Nute, Ricky L’Heureux, Dan Beauvais, John Beauparlant, and Eric Woods. It didn’t take too much to figure how much playing time I’d get, especially as a freshman.”
He spent his final three years as a member of the Crusaders, with the last one being the most special. The 1978 Memorial club achieved a first in Manchester high school hockey.
No simple feat back in the days of the north country powerhouses like Berlin and Notre Dame, Memorial skated to the coveted state title,
Though they were seeded 7th, they knocked off #3 Berlin, 8-4, #2 Bishop Brady, 6-0, and finally, #1 Concord, 4-1, to bring home the ice-covered laurels.
MEMORIES…OH, THE MEMORIES…
The success the left wing/center enjoyed while skating for the Crusaders provided him with a number of great memories…one of them coming from “the city that trees built”.
“I loved playing Berlin. It seemed that no matter what we did, they’d always beat us…that is until the quarter-finals in ’78. Most of the members of both clubs already knew each other. We had all skated together or against each other in summer leagues. We even spent weekends with each other.
One year, Berlin would come to Manchester and the players would stay with the families of the Manchester kids. The next year we’d go to Berlin and they’d do the same thing for us.
We were friends…until the puck dropped.
And in ’78, we did more than drop a puck – in the state quarter-finals we dropped them. I can still remember the father of Berlin star Denny Martin running up and down the cement floor at JFK after the game ended.
From one end to the other he kept yelling ‘Roberge, I’m gonna kill you! Hey, Roberge, I’m gonna KILL you!!!’ It was awesome!”
…AND THE FRIENDSHIPS
It was during his high school hockey seasons that he formed some of his most cherished friendships.
“In the seventh grade I met Mark Myrdek. He was playing goalie in street hockey and I convinced him to try it on the ice. Thank God he did and for those final games for the state championship he played out of his tree! We still play today in the Over 40 League, and we’re still the best of friends.”
And that championship team…“When you’re with a club that may not have the greatest talent, but, for whatever reason, everyone just comes together, pools their talent, guts it out and wins it all – well, you then believe anything’s possible – you now know that it can be done because you just did it!”
His most special high school hockey memory was the caricature drawn by long-time Union Leader cartoonist, the infamous Bob Dix. “It wasn’t until I got up Sunday morning and saw the front page of the sports section of the NH Sunday News that what we had just done really began to sink in. It was Dix’s caricature of Mark and me holding the trophy.
All this time we’d been playing and no one from Manchester had ever done it. Now it was no longer Berlin. Now it was no longer Concord. Now it was Manchester.
Now it was MEMORIAL!”
ON TO COLLEGE…AND, UNFORTUNATELY, MORE
went on to UNH, played there for two years, then, unhappy with some members of the coaching staff and the way they “treated” in-state players, he left college to join the Manchester Blackhawks for the next two years.
Following that, he moved on to the North-East Hockey League as a member of the Fitchburg Trappers, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, but the league and team folded eight games into the season. Not to worry, though, as Ken was picked up by the Decatur Blades of Decatur, Illinois. It was there, two months into his “new” season, that he blew out his knee on a blind-side hit that resulted in a torn MCL and ACL as well as cartilage damage, thus ending a very promising career on the ice.
AND, YES, HE HAD A FAVORITE
His favorite player?
Bruins “classic,” Johnny Bucyk.
“I tried to pattern my style of play after him. He was a tough, heady player and I wanted to be just like him.”
He continued…”You know, growing up in the 60’s and 70’s was great. We got to watch players who had moved to Manchester from Canada and formed the Blackhawks. Guys like Andre Prefontaine, Ray Champagne, and Ron Dubriel. Hockey was in its infancy here and those guys taught us figuratively as well as literally (since we got to play with some of them) how to play the game, how to do the ‘fun stuff’.”
When I inquired as to what “fun stuff” meant, Ken just smiled and said“If you were a hockey player back then, you’d know what it meant.”
‘Nuf said…
A FAVORITE COACH
His most impacting coach?
“When I was a kid just getting started it was guys like Don Williamson, Bob Beausoliel, Sumner Dodge, and my dad, Paul. They often took us to Dorr’s Pond (because there was no available ice time at JFK) to teach us how to skate.
Also, a lot of coaches would yell and scream at their players; would want you to play the game their way, but Hubie McDonough Jr. was a different breed.
Hubie taught me to be ME.
In my mind, his “theory” was ‘If you’ve got a gun, shoot it!’ He put me wherever he needed me and let me play MY game. He never screamed, never yelled, never over-coached. He’d just put me to task and held me to it.”
PLEASE DON’T FORGET…
And, oh, yeah, as far as “impact” goes, he said to be sure to mention his mom, Alice, and sisters, Denise and Cindy. “They went to just about every game I played all my life.” as well as John and Dave Corriveau’s dad, Al.
“He was the most impacting in a different way. Back then, they always sold you skates that were too big. If you were a size five, they gave you a size ten! He gave me my first pair of skates that FIT. After I started wearing them I realized that I could skate…I could REALLY skate.”
WHAT HOCKEY HAS DONE FOR ME…
What has playing sports – particularly hockey – taught him?
“My life-lesson. Work hard at whatever you do and you’ll be paid off in the end and when you make a commitment, stick to it until the season’s done. If you no longer like the sport, then your part in it is done. It also taught me about camaraderie – about how the friends you make in sports will be life-long, will be part of your ‘extended’ family. Why? Because they know what you’ve been through.”
ALONG WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
Sports today, however, have brought him more disappointment than satisfaction. “I love high school and college, but not the pros. At that level it seems that everyone is constantly fighting for a piece of something. They’ve lost sight of the ‘game’ and have become only a ‘business’.”
Ken then offered a comment that really made me think…
“Athletes today are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever before, but are still playing on the same surfaces as their counterparts from the past. How about pushing back the fences in baseball, raising the hoop in basketball, lengthening the field in football, or using an Olympic sized rink in hockey? That would make the game in each sport more challenging, more demanding. Will it change each game? Maybe not, but you’ll never know ‘til you try.”
Considering the size and strength of today’s athletes, I think the implementation of some or all of Ken’s suggestions would bring the “game” back into the picture, particularly in light of the money expended by us fans to vicariously share in their performances.
A DO-OVER? ARE YOU KIDDING?!
Asked if he could have a “do-over” of any part of his sports “life”, what would it be, he answered without hesitation.
“College! I’d make a different decision. I wish I had been more educated. I was star-struck by the chance to play D1 hockey. I should have done a PG (post graduate) at New Hampton. I would have been better educated academically and more mature. I should have done what Hubie McDonough III* did. Play at a smaller school and not get lost in the D1 shuffle. If you’re good enough, no matter what level you play at, they’ll find you. He’s proof of that.”
*Skating for Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Hubie III, one of the most prolific goal scorers in small college history, won the prestigeous Hobey Baker Memorial award, recognizing the top NCAA small college men’s ice hockey player in the country. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, and San Hose Sharks.
TODAY’S HOCKEY VS. THE ’70s
And what about playing hockey today as opposed to when he did in the ‘70’s?
“I’d rather have played back then, no question. Everything was simpler and there weren’t as many distractions…no computers, no Game Boy, no Play Station. I played hour after hour of sandlot baseball, back-yard football, and playground hoop. We were kids and were able to BE kids. If we got in a fight (and we did), we used our fists and never have to worry about being shot or stabbed! Today there’s so much steroid use and cheating that you can’t even watch the Olympics – the ultimate in amateur sports – without thinking that somebody is probably going to lose a medal because of doping.”
AND NOW…
Ken, 65, is married to wife, Charlene, and they are approaching their 42nd wedding anniversary.
They are the proud parents of two daughters, Keriann and Keleigh.
Presently, Ken is the Account Manager at ArcBest and is Director of the Manchester 40+ Hockey League.
After all his different surgeries (the latest needed to repair a torn rotator cuff), he spends most of his time watching his own family play their chosen sports.
Additionally, Ken is on the Hall of Fame Board of Manchester Memorial High School.
Pictured above here with oldest daughter Keriann, a talented athlete herself (and now a mom), who is no longer participating, instead watching her sons, and youngest daughter, Kaleigh, like her Dad, who was the leading scorer of her Crusader soccer team.
MORE FROM THE ROBERGE CLAN…
Ice time continues for the Roberge family…
Grandson, JOEY, is a forward skating for Southern New Hampshire University.
CAM ROBERGE stopping a shot by PATRICE BERGERON
Grandson, CAM. is a senior at Manchester Memorial High School and is the goalie (captain) for the Manchester Kings.
If you knew Ken’s Dad, Paul, I’m pretty sure you’d believe in re-incarnation!
Ted Menswar Jr. is a life-long resident of the Queen City and a retired member of the English Department of Memorial High School who has been involved in local sports for 70 years as a player, a coach, a mentor and a fan. He can be reached at tedmenswar@outlook.com