Since 1981, oceanographers from University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) have faced off in ice hockey matches for a coveted trophy: the Niskin Cup.
Each year, GSO’s Bay Blades and WHOI’s High Stickers play in a home-and-home series, with one game held at URI and the other in Woods Hole. Teams are comprised of students, alumni, faculty, researchers, and staff from the respective entities. Each year’s winner claims bragging rights and the Niskin Cup, a plaque with historical records of each game equipped with a still-functioning Niskin Bottle. The Bottle was donated by its inventor, Shale Niskin, after hearing about the hockey rivalry and the novel method used to identify non-oceanographer “ringer” players. To prove their oceanographic pedigree, players were required to correctly set and trigger the Niskin Bottle.
Games are traditionally held consecutive Saturdays between March and April. Stay tuned for information on this years’ games, and we hope to see you out there rooting for GSO’s Bay Blades!
Check out Niskin Cup photos here!
| Active Players | Retired Players | |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Hudson | Dave Hebert | Tarry Rago |
| Bud Vincent | Peter Cornillon | Skip French |
| Chris Kincaid | Dwight Coleman | Scott McDowell |
| Chris Roman | Rob Bird | Stephan Houden |
| Conor McManus | Pete DeMenocal | Bill Woityra |
| Dave Ullman | Bill Ellis | John Farrell |
| Ed Baker | Charlie Mandeville | Tony Leone |
| Jason Krumholz | Rick Murray | Matt O’Reagan |
| Jeff Mercer | Bob Rheault | Jim Burdett |
| Joe Zottolli | Pete Sampou | Jim Zachos |
| Kevin Rosa | Miles Furnas | Brad Moran |
| Michael Stone | Greg Tracey | Tom Fogg |
| Mike St. Laurent | Doug Cullen | Jeff Davis |
| Rich Bell | Chris Deacutis | |
| Rich Pruell | ||
| Scott Rutherford | ||