Synonyms: hockey, Hunters

It’s no surprise that Meghan Hunter is making her living coaching hockey.

The first-year University of Maine women’s hockey assistant has three uncles, Dale, Dave, and Mark, who played in the National Hockey League. Her dad, Ron, played Major Junior A hockey.

Dale Hunter racked up 1,020 points and 3,565 penalty minutes in 1,407 regular season games for Quebec, Washington, and Colorado; Dave had 323 points in 746 games for Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Winnipeg, and Mark notched 384 points in 628 games for Montreal, St. Louis, Calgary, Hartford, and Washington.

Meghan Hunter said it was “very interesting” and a “great experience” growing up in a close-knit, hockey-oriented family.

“Hockey is in my blood,” said Hunter, a native of Oil Springs, Ontario.

Her first hockey recollection occurred when she was 4 or 5 years old.

“We’d be at our grandparents’ house watching them play on TV. During intermissions, we’d go play ball hockey,” said Hunter, who was joined by several of her cousins.

They would also attend games, and family members reciprocated when she launched her own career.

The Hunters would get together for Christmas dinner and hockey would be the primary topic of discussion.

She also recalled one family get-together when they went to a nearby pond and played hockey in a blizzard.

“They had to put the truck lights on. Mark, Dale, and my dad came down with their boots on and were hitting us around and throwing us into snow banks,” recalled Hunter fondly.

Dale and Mark are the co-owners of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey Association (Major Junior A). Dale also coaches the team, and Mark is the general manager. The Knights won the Memorial Cup, awarded to the top Major Junior A team in Canada, two years ago.

“I love to pick their brains. They’re always there for me,” said Meghan, who began playing hockey when she was 8, the same year as her 5-year-old brother Logan.

Meghan Hunter played on boys teams until she was 15 and then decided to play on a girls team in London, Ontario, so she could get noticed by college recruiters.

She received that opportunity from the University of Wisconsin.

She had a productive career in Madison. She was an assistant captain her senior year (2003-04) and wound up being their third leading scorer.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better four years of my life,” said Hunter. “The program was just starting out and I kind of took a chance on it, with all its resources and stuff.

“It was phenomenal. I got to play for a top-notch coach like Mark Johnson, and after I finished playing, I coached under him for a year. So it was nice to learn that kind of stuff, too,” said Hunter, who was an assistant at Niagara University (N.Y.) last year.

She sees parallels between the early years at Wisconsin and the Maine program.

“I think we’re on the cusp of something great. We have all the things put in place to be a national power. It’s just going to take [time]. We’re on the right track. We’re improving. We need to get more depth,” said Hunter, who helped her Badgers sweep Maine 5-4 and 6-1 in Orono on Oct. 19-20, 2003.

“I had never been to Maine. It was a really pretty area,” said the 25-year-old Hunter, who was elated when Wisconsin won the national title last year.

“I still know the whole coaching staff,” she said.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.