A member of the Elkhon Expos senior baseball team, Brett Orr found it surreal to take to the field at historic Fenway Park wearing skates.
Orr’s Bentley University and the Army West Point hockey teams clashed on Jan. 5 in an outdoor game at the home of the Boston Red Sox. The battle of the two NCAA Division I squads was known as Frozen Fenway.
“Playing hockey in a stadium you've heard so much of with the Green Monster in the background and getting to use the Red Sox dressing room was a memory I'll never forget,” the son of Keith and Brenda Orr wrote in an social media interview.
He said, “being a baseball fan you really get to appreciate the atmosphere and the legendary players that have walked those tunnels as well.”
It had rained a couple days before, but it was clear skies and perfect weather for an outdoor game, Orr said. Bentley University earned a big 3-1 win over the Atlantic Hockey-leading Black Knights with Orr scoring an empty-net goal – the first marker of his college career – to ice the game.
The next day Bentley University rallied from 5-2 to tie Army 5-5 in an indoor tilt. A first-year player, Orr had four points in the series and was named the Atlantic Hockey Defenceman of the Week.
“Bentley's been great so far especially with the guys on the team,” Orr wrote. “School can be a little overwhelming for most freshmen usually and they’re always there to give a helping hand and lots of our older players are dean’s list students so they know what they’re talking about.”
So far in his rookie season the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder has a goal and eight points in 21 games. He has proven he can compete at the NCAA Division I level, the highest in U.S. college hockey.
“The biggest adjustment I've found is definitely the speed of the games, especially at Bentley since we have a smaller rink,” Orr wrote. “You don't have much time with the puck and the thing with Division I hockey is there’s no real bad players and every player can bury the puck when given the chance so you have to be at your best every shift.”
Off the ice, Orr does not need to choose a major until the end of his second year. He is leaning towards majoring in finance. Bentley University is known as one of the United States’ leading business schools. It is located in Waltham, Mass., about nine miles west of Boston.
That is a long ways from Elkhorn and Orr is appreciative of his parents’ continued support of his hockey career. A former Yellowhead Chiefs midget AAA player, he spent his last three seasons with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Portage Terriers. Orr helped the team win two MJHL titles and the 2015 Royal Bank Cup national Junior A championship.
“My family support has been incredible,” Orr wrote. “It's one thing moving away from home but when it’s over 2,000 kilometres away, that's a different story.”
While his parents are unable to drive to Portage with his grandparents or siblings to see him play, they now watch online and keep in touch with technology such as Facetime. Earlier this season they made a 15-hour drive to watch Bentley play Air Force in Colorado Springs and flew to watch the game at Fenway.
“I can't thank them enough for getting me this far and constantly supporting me through this whole new experience,” Orr wrote.
