Former Hitmen Forward Earns College-Wide Academic Award, Plus Academic All-American Honors With Big Green
By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
Dartmouth College has been one of the nation’s – and even the world’s – top institutions for higher education. So for Steven Townley, a former Jersey Hitmen NCDC and New York Dynamo 18U forward, to be regarded as one of the best student-athletes at Dartmouth says a lot about his dedication to academic excellence. That’s all in addition to giving his all to Dartmouth men’s hockey.
“It’s been an amazing three years, and a dream come true. I grew up about 20 minutes away from Dartmouth, so I’ve appreciated every day. This year, it got even better and we were really competitive,” added Townley.
Townley, who helped the Hitmen win the NCDC’s Dineen Cup in 2020-21, moved on from his junior career to play 86 games through his first three NCAA seasons, scoring 16 points. He has also put in the hours, days, weeks and months to become one of Dartmouth’s top academic performers. He was presented with the Class of 1948 Award at the Big Green all-sports Celebration of Excellence, earning the male award alongside Ava Thurston of the women’s nordic skiing team. He was subsequently named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team and also named as a Krampade Academic All-American.
“That Class of 1948 Award was awesome. I was a little surprised when they called my name to be honest. There are so many very good and very smart people at Dartmouth. I am honored and thankful to be there every day. Awards are not something I think about every day. I just try to work hard in all aspects of my life and I am happy to go to a school where I can pursue my dreams of playing hockey alongside a world class education.”
Townley is studying government economics and philosophy, “a pretty common major for a lot of people at the school .”
“I have loved that major. In terms of workload, it is definitely a challenge. For me, taking three years between high school and college, and playing juniors during that time helped me come in very mature,” added Townley. “I’ve been able to learn and do well in school and work towards success in my future life.”
Raising The Cup
The Jersey Hitmen went into the 2020-21 season looking to have a huge year. They’d won their second straight Founders Cup as regular season champions the prior season, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Dineen Cup playoffs to be canceled that March, on the same day that the NCAA canceled all of their championship events, and the NHL put a pause on its season. Not only the Hitmen, but all of the NCDC went into the 2020-21 season with uncertainty and put together roughly half a season playing amid a patchwork of new health-related laws. That is, until, the whole league moved down to its version of the NHL “bubble,” creating Hub City Tampa as a closed community concept where players lived on an otherwise uncrowded resort and only being able to travel to the rinks. Every team got to play 21 regular season games in Tampa that year. The NCDC also completed its playoffs in Pennsylvania, where the Hitmen finished No. 1 officially as Dineen Cup Champions.
“The best part about the Jersey Hitmen is just how they accumulate the best talent. There are unbelievable players there. Our team that year was so strong, and it was mostly because of the internal competition,” said Townley. “That competition aspect is something I carried with me to Dartmouth. Internal competition is what makes programs good, so I did the same thing and more when I got to Dartmouth.”
Prior to joining the Hitmen, Townley had experienced his introduction to USPHL hockey, playing for the CP Dynamo in the former USPHL 18U Division (now the THF 18U Division).
“The coach I had there at the time, Brad Shaver, was incredible in making you work and holding you to a high standard,” said Townley, who played for CP Dynamo in 2018-19. “I hadn’t really known that standard in hockey before that, and I learned you need to build from a baseline work ethic.”
NYC Life
Townley’s academic excellence at Dartmouth has helped him land an internship in New York City, and he said he’s certainly enjoying every minute of Big Apple life – and he owes it all to Dartmouth College.
“I’m working an internship at a private equity firm, and getting opportunities like this is partially a product of being a student-athlete at such a competitive school,” said Townley. “I love living in New York City and I love the internship.”
While he’s currently focusing on achieving his very best performance in his NYC office, he knows that he’ll be looked upon for leadership during his upcoming senior year at Dartmouth.
“I think it’s no secret – I would like to win an ECAC championship,” said Townley. “I just want to build on what we built on last year. The program elevated significantly last year.
“I think on the ice, I kind of fit into a shutdown center type of role, as well as penalty killing, which has been huge for me,” added Townley. “I try to be a shutdown player, hard to play against and always protecting pucks. Those skill sets are what keep me playing every game. The goal is always to leave the Dartmouth jersey in a better place than when I came in.”
The NCDC congratulates Steven Townley for all of his academic and athletic accomplishments at Dartmouth College, as well as in prior years with the Jersey Hitmen and CP Dynamo.
