It is very easy to be critical. It is much more difficult to be that rare person who habitually searches for others' strengths and makes them feel good about themselves.
Dan Casella '02 is one of those people.
He has a broad smile and a contagious laugh, one that belies his 5-8 frame and can be heard across a room.
"Everybody gets down sometimes, but in general, I am a very positive person," says Casella, who was named one of four finalists for the 2002 Hockey Humanitarian Award. "It's just how I've always been -- how I try to be, at least. Why be down and negative? Life is short."
Casella's positive nature has been tested in the past few months, as the veteran forward on the Dartmouth men's hockey team has been sidelined since a Dec. 13 game against New Hampshire with a shoulder injury.
But the New Jersey native has not slumped back or become bitter because he is not among the 21 players in the Big Green lineup each game.
Instead, he can be overheard talking quietly in the press box during every game, voicing positives about his Dartmouth teammates: "Stemper's going to be a great player for a long time." Or "Jamie is playing so well right now." Or "When this line is clicking, they can be so nasty."
The positives just keep on coming.
Even in Saturday's dismal 4-3 loss to St. Lawrence, Casella was busy praising individual efforts, such as when Chris Baldwin '02 executed a clean check and beat an opposing player to the puck soon after a St. Lawrence goal.
In a sport in which those who do not crack the lineup sometimes spend entire games criticizing the play of those on the ice, Casella's positive outlook is refreshingly unique.
"I'd love to be in the lineup," Casella says. "But that's not how it is right now, so why be down about it? You're on the team for a bunch of reasons. One of them is to play, but there's other stuff besides playing that you can give to the team."
Casella gives a lot of stuff to the community, as well.
Throughout his collegiate career, he has engaged in several service projects, spending time at such places as the Carter Community Building in Lebanon and local schools to read and play with young children.
He also has served as a guest coach to a number of youth hockey programs in the Upper Valley and has acted as a key contributor to the Big Green's annual Christmas Toy Drive at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth.
Casella is a favorite among young people, but he becomes tongue-tied if you ask him which community-service project he likes the best.
"That's a tough one," Casella says, adding after a long pause: "I really like the Carter Community Building. We play kickball and bumper pool. I'm not very good at bumper pool, but it's still fun.
"I wish we could do more at the hospital. I have to try to get more involved with that, especially in the offseason. I really like doing stuff like that."
Casella's community work has not gone unnoticed.
Before Dartmouth's game against ECAC and Ivy rival Cornell on Feb. 15, the senior will be presented with a plaque in recognition of his nomination for the Humanitarian Award, which goes each year to college hockey's finest citizen.
The award, which was created in 1995, is considered one of the sport's two most prestigious honors. The other is the Hobey Baker, which goes to the most valuable player on the ice.
"I'm ecstatic about this," says Casella, who may make his return to the ice in the Cornell game. Casella skated and took shots during practice last week for the first time since the mid-December injury.
On April 5, Casella and the other three finalists -- Rocky Reeves (Buffalo State College), Thomas Conti (Lawrence University) and Jeff Wilson (Union College) -- will attend a ceremony at the Frozen Four in St. Paul, where the winner will be announced.
"It's pretty incredible. I had never heard of the award before this year," Casella says. "You don't really think about winning awards when you're going out into the community. You're doing it for other people, but you get a lot out of it, too. I love seeing kids smile.
"This award is a cool thing because I feel like I'm representing the team, the league and the community itself," Casella adds. "Just to get the chance to win this award is pretty special."
If Casella is anointed college hockey's finest citizen on April 5, that will not close the curtain on his community-service career.
In fact, he has already made a two-year commitment to the Peace Corps, for which he will take part in projects in the Caribbean.
"I really don't know exactly what I'll be doing," says Casella, who will begin his work with the Peace Corps in September. "They try to keep it very open. I only know which region I'm going to. I don't even know which island.
"Whatever happens, I'm sure it will be great. I definitely want to take some time to do that kind of stuff before I get a job somewhere. I think it will be an unbelievably positive experience."
Byrne Family's Weekend: 6-3 defenseman Trevor Byrne '03 is asked to do interviews with the media quite often.
As one of only two NHL draft picks on the Big Green and someone who is widely considered to have a good chance of making the St. Louis Blues one day, Byrne is accustomed to fielding questions and doling out smooth answers into a tape recorder held six inches from his face.
However, in a brief question-and-answer session Saturday night, the questions weren't of the normal order, and the answers didn't come nearly as easily.
Moments after Dartmouth's 5-3 loss to St. Lawrence, Byrne was asked how difficult it was to play hockey this weekend after his aunt, Eileen Byrne, died in a car accident Friday morning.
"It was definitely a tough weekend with the family problems going on," Byrne said. "My aunt was killed in a car accident Friday morning. I found out late morning right before the pregame meal. It's very tough, but I had to try to put it out of my mind for the three periods I was out there."
Byrne played his normal slew of minutes in both games this weekend, but he also admitted that focusing only on hockey was sometimes difficult.
"It felt a little different out there," Byrne said. "There were definitely glimpses where I would start thinking about it and it was hard to play. But you just have to battle through it, just like any other adversity you face."
Kounseling Kotyra: Head coach Bob Gaudet '81 has never been one to keep his feelings to himself when it comes to officiating.
When a penalty is called against Dartmouth, Gaudet can frequently be seen " and heard " shouting at the head referee, demanding an explanation as to why the Big Green is about to be shorthanded.
But Saturday night may have been one of the most frustrating in a long time for the veteran head coach, now in his fifth year at Dartmouth after a successful nine-year run at Brown.
Gaudet was irate that St. Lawrence received a 5-on-3 power play soon after Gary Hunter '02 had scored to cut the Big Green deficit to one early in the second period. The Saints lit the lamp fairly easily with the two extra men, regaining the momentum.
Late in the contest, Gaudet again became incensed after Mike Murray '03 was whistled for slashing with only 1:40 remaining on the clock, seriously harming the team's chances to net the tying goal in a 4-3 game.
After the game, the media was shielded from immediate access to the area around the Dartmouth locker room, as Gaudet was engaging in a lengthy, animated discussion with head referee Tim Kotyra.
When asked about the officiating, however, Gaudet opted for the politically correct route.
"What I have to trust is that what they see as a penalty is really a penalty," Gaudet said. "They're not out there to hurt Dartmouth College or our hockey team. I have to make sure that we're smart in those situations.
"There wasn't much called for a stretch, and then we get put in the position of a 5-on-3 that, at this level, is pretty much a goal. We have to be better than that."
Metro on the Brink: Left winger Mike Maturo '02 had a goal and three assists this weekend, giving him 99 points for his career.
There are 28 members of the 100-point club in school history, led by Bill Riley '46 with an astounding 228. The most recent player to pass the century mark was David Whitworth '98, who graduated with 117 points to his name.
Maturo will have his first chance to notch No. 100 next Friday night at Union, against whom he has five points (2g, 3a) in six career games. Against Rensselaer, Dartmouth's opponent next Saturday, Maturo has only two points, both goals, in 10 meetings.
Maturo's 25 points (11g, 14a) this season are second in the league behind RPI's Marc Cavosie, who has 28 (12g, 16a).
