AMHERST – Henry Graham went home last October, so sick with mononucleosis he couldn’t be around his UMass hockey teammates.
It was the first time the then-sophomore battled and struggled away from the group. Graham’s mental health suffered. He’d always grown a mustache for the month of November but never with a purpose.
Seeing other teams promoting the Movember Foundation inspired him to involve his team. Movember is an annual event involving the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide.
“It’s always hard to talk about stuff you’ve been through. But we’re a really close knit group here, and I wasn’t worried about sharing anything with them,” Graham said. “I knew that they’d have my back and really happy they picked it up and support it like they did.”
The team raised just under $9,000 last season in the inaugural campaign. Graham originally thought the team could pull in $500. They’re up above $2,000 already this year.
“I had no idea what the impact was going to be on campus last year,” Graham said. “It’s great, puts smile on my face, and I couldn’t ask for more.”
Caring about others has been a part of the UMass hockey program as long as Greg Carvel has been the head coach. He doesn’t participate in the mustache growing but has donated to the fundraiser. The Minutemen return to action Friday when Boston University comes to the Mullins Center.
“You want things like that to be part of your fabric, and this is completely on the players. This is their baby,” Carvel said. “I am proud of the kids that they take charge of it every year. And I’m on the outside and not one, but I think it’s just a byproduct of they know it’s proper behavior within our program.”
The Minutemen take pride in the ways they can positively affect their community.
“I think we have a platform, we should do something good,” senior Reed Lebster said. “We like to be good people just as much as we like being good hockey players.”
The tradition set in easily with a close group of returning players. It continued this year even as the Minutemen added a dozen new players. All of the transfers and freshmen have asked Graham for the link and how they can contribute.
“The room is filled with high character guys. There’s only good people here, and I think it’s just a testament to our program,” Graham said. “Everyone’s so excited to get in on this and give back. I just think it’s because it’s all good character guys in there.”
Graham also recognizes the power that comes from hockey players specifically spreading awareness for mental health. The sport glorifies physicality and sometimes violence, at least with fighting at the professional level. Showing an openness and the importance of mental health from that world rings even more true.
“All of us have one way or another been through something, especially in hockey, where you’re dealing with stuff, whether it’s family, it’s hockey related, and you’re not very comfortable to really share with the guys. Especially now with more and more pro athletes and college athletes bringing up the conversation, everyone’s become more comfortable sharing their experiences and trying to help each other out,” Graham said. “Hockey guys do get the rough kind of impression, but most of the best people I know play hockey.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbw