RI Hockey Hall of Fame includes Jewish standouts

The Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame announced the names of 16 Rhode Island hockey greats, including Jewish standouts Mathieu Schneider and Sara DeCosta-Hayes, who will be enshrined in its charter class on Sept. 20 during a celebration and dinner at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln. The names and official portraits of the inductees were unveiled on March 4 between periods of the AHL game between the P-Bruins and Springfield at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence.

Typically, Hall of Fame classes are highlighted by a select few who stand out. However, as RI Hockey Hall of Fame Chairman Vincent Cimini pointed out, “Each deserves the spotlight. This is the ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Rhode Island hockey.

“Our charter class is comprised of 11 who have represented the USA in World Championships, including eight in the Olympics,” he proudly noted. “Ten have previously been enshrined in the International, USA and AHL Hockey Halls of Fame. Three have their names engraved on the NHL’s Stanley Cup and many have set records that still stand in the sport. Most of all, as players and as pillars of the game, they each represent the very best of our state’s rich and illustrious hockey heritage.”

Charter inductees include:

Sara DeCosta-Hayes - Named a genuine contemporary Jewish heroine by Brandeis University in 2009, DeCosta-Hayes was a Rhode Island All-State goaltender at Toll Gate High School and the first girl to play in Rhode Island’s championship division. She was a two-time USA Hockey Women’s Player of the Year at Providence College and a two-time USA Olympian, capturing gold in the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and silver in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Mathieu Schneider – Inducted into the International Jewish Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014 and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, Schneider led Mount St. Charles Academy to three Rhode Island state and two national titles before embarking on a 21-year NHL career. Two-time NHL All-Star, played on the Montreal Canadiens’ 1993 Stanley Cup-winning team and helped Team USA capture the inaugural World Cup of Hockey three years later. He is the Rhode Island leader in almost all NHL statistical categories.

Other charter class inductees, in alphabetical order, are:

Bill Belisle, Curt Bennett, Harvey Bennett, Sr., Bryan Berard, Keith Carney, Joe Cavanagh, Cammi Granato, Lou Lamoriello, Brian Lawton, Louis A.R. Pieri, Dick Rondeau, Chris Terreri, Zellio Toppazzini, and Ron Wilson. Complete bios on all inductees are posted on the RI Hockey Hall of Fame’s website: RIHHOF.com.

Submitted by the RI Hockey Hall of Fame