Stanley Cup means homecoming for Marblehead’s Schneider

Three years before Cory Schneider would travel to the Stanley Cup finals as a backup goalie with the Vancouver Canucks, the Friends of Marblehead Hockey had already recognized his talents.In 2008, the organization inducted Schneider, who was born and raised in Marblehead, into its Hall of Fame. He had helped Boston College win a national championship in the 2006-07 season. As a high school freshman he had played for Marblehead High under former coach Howie Doliber before going on to Phillips Exeter.”We felt that because he was a Marblehead High School and youth player growing up, and was from Marblehead, he qualified for induction,” said Friends board member – and current Marblehead High coach – Bob Jackson said on Wednesday, hours before Schneider and the Canucks hosted the Boston Bruins in Game One of the Stanley Cup finals.Schneider was unable to attend the induction ceremony because of what Jackson described as a last-second call to go to the Vancouver rookie camp. As a result, he wrote a note that was read at the ceremony, Jackson said.This is an exciting time for hockey in Marblehead. The Bruins are in the Cup finals for the first time since 1990 and have a chance to win their first Cup since 1972, and the high school team is coming off its first-ever state championship (in Division 3).”I think there’s a tremendous amount of hockey talk in Marblehead right now,” Jackson said.The town also has a storied hockey past. For example, in 2008, Schneider’s co-inductees were Gary Ware, an All-American at Babson, and the 1963-64 team, which reached the state final and lost to Arlington.However, Jackson said, Schneider may occupy a unique position in the history of Marblehead hockey.”No one else from Marblehead played in the NHL, to my knowledge,” Jackson said. “Toot Cahoon won two national titles at BU and played some pro hockey, and we had Tom Colby and Gary Conn. We’re trying to put together research and look into that with a program/book on Marblehead history. We’ll definitely look into that.”Jackson has met Schneider several times. Schneider’s brother, Geoff, skates with a group on Thursday evenings at Salem State and Revere and each summer the group holds a cookout and get-together. Cory Schneider has attended the last two ? and last year’s gathering was at Jackson’s house.”Cory’s a very, very smart individual,” Jackson said. “He’s a tremendously down-to-earth individual. He’s a very hard worker, based on the success he’s had.”