President's Letter
From the Alumni Director
On Campus
Applause
The Bulldogs of Grand Rapids
Among the Crowns of Trees
Playing Monopoly... With Real Money
House of Steinberg
Bulldog Bites
Behind the Mask
Paid to Play
The Future Memory of These Days
Red Wing Face Off
Class Notes
In Memoriam
Alumni Events

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   On Saturday, Oct. 9, the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Team landed at Ewigleben Ice Arena to take on a team of Big Rapids All-Stars. The Red Wings’ Alumni Team included such former Detroit greats as Shawn Burr and Lee Norwood, while the Bulldog Alumni team included former club and varsity players Maurice Paquette, Mike Moll, Tom Miller, Norm Krumpschmid and Doug Smith.

Mike Moll

   “I have so many fond memories playing and watching hockey at Ferris, but the best part for me were the friends I made on and off the ice, from the rink staff to the coaching staff,” recalled Paquette. “One thing that sticks for me is playing summer hockey with future NHL players. Guys like Dave Karpa and John Gruden were a joy to skate with.”
   Moll, too, recalls playing with Karpa and Gruden, and echoes the sentiment common among Bulldog alums, that friendships forged on the ice are lasting.
  “The friendships I developed by playing hockey at Ferris are still alive today, said Moll. “Some of my most favorite memories are from the off-season, when club and Varsity players would get together and the opportunity to play with guys that went to the NHL. It was a great learning experience.”
   While they may not have made it to the NHL, Paquette and Moll have had successful careers in other areas. Paquette is an on-site computer engineer for Barix Clinics in Ypsilanti, supporting and maintaining the clinic’s Windows-based servers. Moll, after a stint playing in the old Colonial League for a Flint-based team, pursued a career in law enforcement. Today he works for the Transportation Security Administration, and has responsibility for the Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Muskegon Airports.

Ferris alumnus Bryan Marquardt (left) skates against Lee Norwood of the Red Wing Alumni Team.

   For other Alumni, hockey has been a constant in their lives.

   Tom Miller is founder and vice president of the Skate Pass Shoot Skill Development Clinics, whose team of instructors perform skills clinics for KVHA hockey teams at the mini-mite through high-school level. Currently, he also serves as the head coach of the Kensington Valley Rebels Squirt A travel team.
   “The chance to play in a Red Wings alumni game is the perfect opportunity for our family to return to campus to support Ferris,” he says.
   Norm Krumpschmid and Doug Smith played hockey professionally both in the United States and Europe.
   Krumpschmid was on the ice professionally for nine years after graduating from Ferris. He has represented Austria in the Olympics, and skated for Norway and Switzerland in two world championships. Smith still makes the sport his career, serving as hockey director for the Walker Ice and Fitness Center in Grand Rapids for six years, and is currently manager for the Georgetown Ice Arena in Hudsonville.
   “Ferris was a stepping stone for my pro career,” said Krumpschmid. “Ferris is also also where I met my beautiful wife.”

In the thick of the action are (from left), goalie Dave Cencer of the Big Rapids Pioneer, Red Wing Alumni player Shawn Burr and Bulldog Alumnus Norm Krumpschmid.

   For Smith, the Ferris campus has continued to be familiar territory.
   “I return every year to play in the Hockey Alumni golf outing at Ferris,” he said. “The opportunity to represent the Bulldogs against the Red Wings alumni was an incredible honor.”
   The Red Wings alumni signed autographs during an afternoon cookout and picnic co-sponsored by Ferris Athletics and Alumni Relations. As for the game itself, Red Wings proved too much for the Big Rapids All-Stars, taking the hard-fought but much-enjoyed contest 6-2.
  Proceeds from the game benefited local hockey programs, and charities supported by the Red Wing Alumni Organization.