A Day in the Life of an NCAA Hockey Player

Neve Van Pelt played for the NCAA Providence Friars women’s hockey team from 2016-17 to 2019-20 and for the NWHL's (now PHF’s) Buffalo Beauts in 2020-21. She’s currently a student at the College of Sports Media in Toronto and an intern at The Hockey News. She’s writing a blog series about her hockey journey.

Game day in college was by far my favorite day of the week. 

Whether you were knee-deep in schoolwork from a mid-term assignment, dreading another three-hour seminar class, or studying for a big test, one thing that always got me through it was knowing I’d be playing the good ol’ hockey game that weekend.

Waking up on a Friday morning on game day never got old. (However, waking up to go to an 8:30 a.m. lecture on Friday did.)

I was never one to be superstitious. The most superstitious thing I’d do was put my left knee pad on before my right, but that felt like more of an old routine than something I had to do to play well that night. Don’t get me wrong – there were definitely things I’d enjoy doing before games, like sitting in the stands and listening to Burn It to the Ground by Nickelback, taping my stick on the bench, and playing spike ball. But if I couldn’t do one of these things for some reason, it didn’t affect my mentality going into the game.

A typical game day with a 7 p.m. puck drop on a Friday night looked slightly different throughout my four years. For the first two-and-a-half years, I didn’t have much of a choice when it came to scheduling classes because many courses I needed fell on Fridays. However, in my last two years, the classes were more focused on my major, and I had the luxury of having Fridays off.

I preferred having classes earlier in the day so I could have my afternoon to rest up for the game. This meant class started at 8:30 a.m. for me on Fridays.

As nice as it was getting class over with in the morning, I wasn’t a huge fan of waking up early, so I’d literally roll out of bed around 8:10 a.m., throw on some leggings and my favorite Friars sweater, brush my teeth, and walk to class all within 20 minutes.

After class, I’d head to the dining hall, the famous “Ray,” that oddly enough became one of my favorite places to hang out. With Providence having a small campus and just under 5,000 students, you knew if you were walking into “Ray,” there was at least a 90-percent chance that one of your teammates would be there.

We’d spend hours in there talking and laughing about anything from how our day was going to arguing about Canadian versus American words and phrases, to contemplating if we deserved ice cream before heading to the library. The memories we made in “Ray” are one of the things I miss most about college.

My go-to breakfast on game day usually consisted of eggs, whatever potato the dining hall served that day, and vanilla yogurt with granola and blueberries.

Sometimes after this, I’d head to the library if I was really swamped in school work, but for the most part, I liked to cram whatever I didn’t get done during the week into Sunday night and just focus on hockey on Fridays and Saturdays.

Our team pregame meal would usually be in the Leary Friends of Friar Hockey Room around 2 or 3 p.m., so before this, I would head back to my dorm room to rest up and either take a nap or watch Netflix.

The nice thing about Providence College was that no matter where you were on campus, Schneider Arena was a maximum 10- to 15-minute walk. The pregame meal was always fun – we’d joke around with our teammates while fuelling up on what was usually some type of salad, a protein, a carb and a vegetable.

Following this, my roommates and I would head back to our dorm room, blast some music and pick out our game-day outfits.

My best friend, Whitney Dove, and I liked to go to the rink early to contrast between the cold and hot tub to make sure our legs were feeling fresh before the game. After this, we’d play spike ball or sewer ball with some of our teammates before heading to do off-ice warm-ups.

Our strength and conditioning coach made a new playlist every year, so as we ran through the doors, we’d hear the same song and sing our hearts out while heading to the warm-up spot that we chose on Day 1. My favorite part of warm-ups was always when we’d split into our ladder groups. As we ran through the line, my group had a unique move we’d do with each person. Whether it was a high five, dab, or weird dance move, it was always fun.

After warm-ups, I’d throw my beats on, tape my stick on the bench and then head up to the stands to listen to some music and get my mind in the right place for the game.

I’d always give myself a good chunk of time to get dressed because I hated the feeling of being rushed to get ready on time. As the clock counted down, we’d head out in order of our jersey numbers for warm-ups. We’d do the classic warm-up drills like passing around the circles, blueline shooting, 2-on-1s, breakouts, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I loved warm-ups, but the second we were done, I was the first one off the ice every time.

The coaches would come in shortly before the game to give us a speech and have someone read the starting lineup. This, along with huddling in the middle of the room before heading onto the ice, always fired the team up.

Spending four years at Providence, I became a big fan of the Star-Spangled Banner and loved standing on the blueline listening to it play before puck drop. When I’d have the opportunity to start the game, there was always a lot of pressure to win the opening faceoff, and in most cases, I’d thrive under this pressure. When I didn’t start, I’d be dialled in on the bench, waiting to hop over the boards to get that first shift under my belt.

I was an energy player and tried to keep it light and positive on the bench during games. People will make mistakes, including me, and dwelling on those mistakes doesn’t help anyone. Between periods, we’d go over what we could do better as a team, eat some snacks to refuel, and rest up for the next 20 minutes.

When it came to game day, there was nothing better than scoring a goal and celebrating by going through the entire bench, high-fiving everyone. My “celly” became a quick fan-favorite, literally jumping in the air and doing the most bizarre leg kick. Needless to say, it made the highlights in our video sessions a few times.

After a win, we’d go back to the dressing room, throw on our win song, and all together, we’d sing at the top of our lungs. Looking back now, it’s the little things like this that really stick out.

By the time the game was over, it was usually close to 10 p.m., so we’d grab a bite to eat. They’d have some type of sandwiches, salads, or, if we were lucky, Chipotle for us in the lounge area outside our dressing room. My roommates and I would then head back to our dorm, chat about the game, set our alarms for our pre-game stretch the next day, and call it a night.