Before attending the Boys Varsity Hockey and Girls Varsity Hockey games later in the day, spectators flocked to the dedication and renaming of the South Rink on Saturday in honor of longtime hockey coach Christopher Gurry ’66.
Head of School John Palfrey and Gurry himself spoke at the dedication ceremony. This past November, Andover announced that the South Rink would be renamed after Gurry.
An undisclosed donor made the naming of the rink possible and attributed the celebration to his profound dedication to the sport both as a coach and player at Andover, according the Andover website.
Prior to his retirement last spring, Gurry served 40 years on the faculty as Instructor in History, Head Coach of Andover Boys Hockey, House Counselor,and coaching stints for the golf and lacrosse teams.
After graduating from Andover, Gurry went onto be the captain of Harvard Men’s Hockey Team. He also went on to coach college hockey at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
In 2011, Gurry received the John Mariucci award from the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA), after a 25-year long career as a coach of Andover Boys Hockey.
“The John Mariucci Award, named after the ‘godfather of U.S. hockey,’ is given each year to a secondary school hockey coach who ‘best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and enthusiasm’ of the former University of Minnesota coach,” according to the Andover website.
The Gurry Rink sits alongside the Harrison Rink, named after legendary hockey coach and former athletics director Ted Harrison ’38 . Harrison was also a longtime coach and mentor of Gurry.