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After being named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team following her freshman season at the University of New Hampshire, everything seemed to be going right for Alexis Crossley.
But then turbulence came and the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native’s life — at least in terms of hockey — did a complete about-face.
The blue liner injured her wrist and shoulder, requiring season-ending surgeries in October to follow suit. Coach Brian McCloskey, who recruited Crossley to UNH, was fired after allegedly assaulting one of his players.
With a lengthy recovery period and severed relationship with her former coach creating a bleak reality, Crossley was admittedly at a bit of a crossroads. A new path was needed, so the now-21-year-old went searching for answers.
Little did Crossley know at the time, but one email to Brian Durocher, the head coach of the Boston University women’s hockey team, would entirely change her life.
“I emailed Coach Durocher and it was kind of late in the year, so it was hard to expect too much of a response,” Crossley said. “But I just emailed and told him I was really interested in coming to BU if he had a spot available. I had to reach out and contact him.”
Durocher, who has been at the Terrier helm for the last 11 seasons, began conversations with Crossley about trading in her Wildcat jersey for a scarlet-and-white Terrier sweater. She pondered the opportunity and, after receiving a release from UNH, made the jump from one Hockey East program to another.
Ironically, though, Crossley was apprehensive about what life in Boston would have in store when she began her recruitment process while enrolled at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Minnesota. Durocher’s side was a serious possibility, but the two parties ultimately went separate ways.
“Originally when I was first looking at where I was going to play my college hockey career, it kind of all came down to BU and UNH,” Crossley said. “Ultimately, I didn’t choose BU at first because I come from a fairly small town and I went to high school in a really, really small town, and I think the city kind of intimidated me at first.”
Nonetheless, Crossley firmly put her UNH career in the rear-view mirror ahead of the 2014-15 academic year, fully aware that NCAA regulations require those who transfer to sit out a season. For the biology major on a pre-dental track, that wasn’t a problem whatsoever.
It provided Crossley with ample time to fully heal from her surgeries and work on her weaknesses. In fact, she wasn’t even that far removed from the team during the 2014-15 season.
She still practiced with them during the week, went to meetings and participated in gym sessions. Game day was the only major difference, but even on those occasions, Crossley had an intriguing vantage point: recording statistics in the press box.
“The normal day [I] was just like a typical athlete or a typical hockey player,” Crossley said. “I went to class, went to practice and went to workout. The different things for me were on game days, where the team would head upstairs and then come down to put their gear on and go on the ice.
“I spent most of my time during those periods either in the gym before the game or during the press box during the game,” Crossley continued. “I was really lucky that [Sports Information Director] Kevin [Edelson] gave me the chance to do that where I was able to find my role in the stats part of our games rather than being on the bench myself.”
During games last year, it was a commonality in the Walter Brown Arena press box to hear Crossley shouting out from where then-junior forwards Sarah Lefort and Kayla Tutino — her teammates — were firing at the net.
The job even led to some playful teasing from her teammates, as she would deliver shot charts to the locker room in between periods. It didn’t matter if Durocher or Tutino or someone else was offering jovial remarks, though. All that mattered was Crossley was a part of the team in some fashion and participating in BU’s journey to a 25-9-3 record.
“It was a good way to incorporate myself in the game,” Crossley said. “Instead of just sitting in the stands watching, I was able to almost feel like I was participating more than I would normally have been.”
As integrated as the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, resident was with the team last year, the fact of the matter is that she wasn’t on the ice when it mattered most. That narrative changes this year.
By all measures, Crossley, who spent good portions of last year working one-on-one with Darcy Gould, an associate strength and conditioning coach at BU, is poised for a major role on the team.
She’ll quite humbly insist on the contrary, but even her teammates recognize that a special player will at last be fighting tooth and nail for the pole position in Hockey East and beyond.
“I wanted her to come here so badly when I committed, but she took her path to UNH,” said senior forward Rebecca Russo, who played with Crossley for two years at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. “Now she’s here, though, which is unbelievable for our team.
“She’s one of our best defenseman this year, whereas last year she was our practice player. Now we’re playing on the same ice again [and] it brings back some memories since she knows where I am on the ice always. It’s a great addition to the team definitely.”
As for the defenseman’s head coach? Just like Russo, he recognizes the blue liner’s ability, as he’s already alluded to her running the point on the power play.
However, Durocher will shower Crossley with just as much, if not more, praise for her off-ice qualities.
“The one thing that stuck out the minute she got here is that she’s a fantastic person and a great teammate,” Durocher said. “She really takes a lot of the initiative to be a leader, to be somebody who isn’t afraid to speak up. It’s a great plus to have a nice individual and a quality individual come into the program.”
But when it comes to excitement levels, nobody even remotely compares to Crossley herself. She spent all of last year rehabbing and feels she’s in the best shape of her life now because of it.
She even is on track to graduate in May, play for BU next year while working towards her Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology. Above all, she’s overjoyed to finally pull on the BU jersey.
“It feels like it’s Christmas Eve,” Crossley said. “Hockey is coming up and I couldn’t be more excited to put on the Terrier jersey. I wish that there were words exciting enough to describe the feelings that I have about it.”
It might be hard to put the emotions into words, but a new and hopefully prosperous chapter is set to unfold.
“It’s a relief and it’s been a long time coming,” Crossley said. “I cannot wait to lace up my skates this year and even just touch the ice for warm ups.
“It doesn’t even have to be for the game — just touching the ice for warm ups with my team and getting ready to start playing. I’m just thrilled to join my teammates on the ice finally.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
