By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
We’re going to take you back in time, not super far back to the time of dinosaurs or the Ancient Romans, but just around the proverbial time corner, to Sept. 14, 2019. It’s a huge day for Fort Wayne, Ind., as the city’s brand new junior team the Fort Wayne Spacemen have taken the ice for their first game in Dyer, Indiana, against the former Midwest Blackbirds.
Longtime Fort Wayne resident and Carroll High School junior Cam Perry takes the puck and scores the very first Spacemen goal.
Back to now, Perry has just finished his fourth season with the Spacemen, a fantastic career culminating in the Spacemen’s first-ever trip to the USPHL Premier National Championships. There, Cam Perry’s empty-net goal helped the Spacemen eliminate the Hudson Havoc in the Round of 16 and make the Premier quarterfinals.
What a journey, and Perry looks back on all of it with fondness, while also being extremely excited about his future in NCAA hockey with Anna Maria College.
“The past four years have been some of the most memorable moments for me because of how close each Spacemen team became. Beyond thankful for each memory I have made during this chapter,” said Perry, who played in exactly 100 games for the Spacemen. “The Fort Wayne Spacemen organization offered me a home for the last four years of my life. They treat their players as a professional family and encouraged us to hold ourselves to a higher standard in the rink as well as in our community.”
It’ll be tough to leave behind, but Perry is excited to see what he can bring to the AMCats, a program that is still new after being founded in 2018 by current Head Coach David McCauley. This past season, their fifth as an independent team, they were able to score big victories including against Division II teams like Franklin Pierce University and Assumption.
“I started talking with Anna Maria coaches on March 14 of this year going into Nationals, where my speed and physicality played a large role,” said Perry. “After talking with the coaches, the first major factor that helped me decide AMC was the right play was the fact that the coaches were focused and determined to answer any questions I had regarding their program, and the East Coast location sets me up to play closer to my home state and family in Maine.”
Perry gets the best of many worlds by heading to AMC, as he’ll not only get a small-college experience, but can also take advantage of Anna Maria College’s partnership with larger universities to expand his educational pursuits.
“My goal is to take the business administration pathway while also majoring in industrial engineering at one of the neighboring universities through Anna Maria,” he said. “At first glance, I instantly liked the size and layout of the school itself. The smaller size and lower enrollment allowed me to recognize that the students and teachers are much closer and familiar with each other compared to larger universities.”
He is ready to bring his “A” game to the AMCats, after posting 51 points in 100 regular season games, and adding 11 points in 16 more playoff games in his Spacemen career.
“During this off-season, I plan to focus on developing my vision of the ice and continuing to build my shot to prepare myself for the faster speed of NCAA hockey,” he said.
He certainly thanks and praises the Spacemen for getting him to this point of his career, after a great four years, all under the watchful eye of former Fort Wayne Komets captain Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock.
“I believe Coach Schrock and the coaching from college and professional players throughout the Fort Wayne program has created a development pathway that drives each player to mature as a person before tapping into their skill development, which the coaching staff opens in a way unique to each player’s style,” said Perry. “This coaching style and development model greatly helped me improve during my time with the Spacemen. [The USPHL] Nationals and Showcases are some great hockey and the environment is one that college scouts do not turn down.”
The USPHL congratulates Cameron Perry, his family, the Fort Wayne spacemen and Anna Maria College for his commitment.
