"Toward the end of the year the UVM coach called and offered me a scholarship." Martins says. "He said that I wouldn't be able to play right away at Harvard because they always recruit such good players."
In his freshman season, however, Martins not only made the team, but he also proved to be the most successful player of an outstanding recruiting class. He was honored as Harvard's top outstanding freshman and named to the ECAC All-Rookie team.
"That year we surprised a lot of people by winning the ECAC regular season title," Martins says. "We had The next season proved to be bittersweet forMartins. He had the opportunity to be on a teamwith Ted Drury--two-time Olympian, 1992-93 Harvardhockey captain and current Hartford Whaler.Unfortunately, Martins was injured and played just18 games. "I got hurt the first day of practice," Martinssays. "But playing with Drury was great. He was agreat example for us." All of this set the stage for what was the mostsuccessful Harvard hockey season since its 1989national Championship campaign. The 1993-94 team had it all: dynamite offense,stonewall defense and a tandem of stellargoaltenders. Were it not for a few unlucky bouncesin the semi-final game against eventual nationalchampion Lake Superior State, Harvard would havefound itself playing for the national championshipfor the second time in five years. The 1994-1995 season was a different story. "We never got off to a good start." Martinssays. "We had a lot of returning players, but manyof them were inexperienced, which put a lot ofpressure on the freshmen. We had no real winningstreaks." Martins shouldered the brunt of the burden. Hewas constantly shadowed by one--sometimes two--ofthe other teams' top defensive forwards. He wasslashed and hooked and speared. He frequentlyfought back, spending a team-high 87 minutes inthe penalty box. "I definitely got frustrated, and it shows inmy penalty minutes," Martins says. "But I willhave to get used to that if I want to play at thenext level." Nevertheless, Martins was the undisputed starof the Harvard team and almost singlehandedly ledit to victory on several occasions. Martins ends his Harvard career as the school's14th all-time leading scorer with 139 points. Heleaves with many fond memories. "I loved playing with Ted Drury--he was a realinspirational leader," Martins say. "Also, SeanMcCann ['94] sticks out in my mind. But I willalways remember my classmates." Martins believes that he is leaving Harvardwith very good prospects for the future. "Harvard has always been successful, and theywill be again soon," he says. 'We have goodfreshmen comming in, and [captain-elect] BradKonik, Jason Karmanos, Kirk Nielsen and TommyHolmes should really light it up." Read more in Sports
