Taken from the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, Sunday, March 12, 1995.
 
IT'S DAN - NOT KEN - HODGE
by Bill Burt
Eagle-Tribune Writer
 
NORTH ANDOVER - Of all the lessons Dan Hodge has learned over his five
roller-coaster years at Merrimack College, none were more evident than
the one stitched on the back of his jersey.
 
The name Hodge can take you only so far.
 
It doesn't mean anything to an English professor who couldn't decipher
a hockey stick from a weed whacker.
 
It doesn't heal a severely sprained wrist any quicker than it does for
a guy named Jones.
 
And it doesn't ease the opposition's competitive edge.
 
If anything, being the son of ex-Boston Bruin Ken Hodge, who scored
50 goals in 1973-74 as part of one of the most explosive forward lines
in NHL history, and being the brother of ex-Boston College star Ken Jr.,
did increase expectations.
 
Whether the 6-3, 210-pound Hodge slipped up in the classroom or in the
zone against UMaine, there has never been safe place for refuge.
 
Because of the name.
 
"What's up with the Hodge kid," people would say.
 
Things started off slippery from the start.  Hodge struggled with
schoolwork and the pace of Hockey East.  He, in fact, did seek refuge
for a year, leaving Merrimack for Omaha of the U.S. Junior League.
 
"It was the best thing I ever did," said Hodge.  "I needed to get away.
School was tough.  I wasn't mature enough to handle it.  I also got to
play a full-time hockey schedule...I realized then that I had to get an
education, that hockey wasn't going to be around forever."
 
Hodge returned to open arms at Merrimack, which was one of only a few
Division 1 schools who originally recruited him.
 
His coach, Ron Anderson, said just the fact that Hodge wanted another
shot put him among special company.
 
"When they leave, they rarely come back," said Anderson.  "Dan needed
maturing.  He was always a nice kid.  When he came to Merrimack, we
knew that (the academics) wouldn't be easy.  The fact that he wanted to
give it another shot said something to me."
 
Hodge, a Bruins draft pick, quickly established himself as one of the
team's top defenders as a sophomore and played a bigger role on offense.
 
He had 17 assists as a sophomore and added 22 more his junior season
(and nine goals, too).
 
There have been other injuries as well as other hurdles in the classroom.
In fact, he didn't play hockey the first semester of this season
because of grades.
 
Two things have always been there.  His blazing slap shot from the point.
And his smile.
 
"I give Dan credit for hanging in there," said Anderson.  "Merrimack was
the right match for him.  He grew up in a lot of different areas both
on and off the ice.  I'm really proud of him.  He's a great kid from a
great family."
 
Hodge says his dad, Ken, has always been one of his biggest supporters.
He is a regular at most Merrimack games, home and away.  His mother
and sisters too.
 
"I don't really remember any of his great years with the Bruins.  I
was too young," said Hodge.  "I remember when he was in the minor leagues.
I still thought he was real good."
 
The "Hodge kid" has turned out to be pretty good himself.
 
In fact, he will do something no other person wearing Hodge on the back
of his jersey has ever done.
 
"I'll be the first one in my family to graduate from college," said
Hodge, who'll earn a degree in sociology.  "A lot of people probably
didn't think I could do it.  It wasn't easy...I'm probably proudest
of that."
 
Hockey is in his future.  At least he hopes so.  He will give the Bruins
and NHL a try.  Possibly even the minors.
 
His size, strength,, slap shot and Merrimack experience, at the very
least, will get him an honest look.
 
As far as the immediate hockey future, it could all end tonight if
Merrimack loses to BU in the Hockey East playoffs.
 
"I was thinking about it last week against Boston College as the
National Anthem was playing.  It'll be the last time I hear Huey Lewis
& The News," said Hodge, referring to the taped rendition of the
anthem played before Merrimack games.  "I'm going to miss Huey."
 
Or it could continue, if Merrimack shocks BU again, with a game (or
two) at the Hockey East semifinals at Boston Garden.
 
Another Hodge finishing his career at Boston Garden?
 
That would be perfect.
 
END
 
(This article appeared the day of the Merrimack-BU quarterfinal game,
won by BU, 4-3.  - mike)
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93