Dartmouth's Energizer Bunny
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey, Athletics
By Heather Croze
There are two relatively well-known commercial phrases that can be used to describe one particular Dartmouth men's hockey player.
First, picture #11 streaking down the ice at Thompson Arena his white uniform billowing. Suddenly an opposing stick comes out, our hero falls to ice and immediately bounces back up. He quickly gets into the corner, fights for the loose puck and crashes the net.
“Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.”
Now imagine Dan Shribman playing in his100th collegiate game, coming in the seventh contest of his senior season, with the same energy level of his freshman campaign.
“Still going! Nothing outlasts the Energizer! It keeps going and going and going…”
“Danny has a boundless amount of energy,” said head coach Bob Gaudet. “His ability to make every line he's on better, his ability to chase down defenders, fight for loose pucks in the corner, his forechecking — all things that will be missed next season. He will always be one of my all-time favorite guys.”
“I've always approached sports the same way,” Shribman said, “I've always thought your energy level and work ethic were the most important things. Since coming to Dartmouth I've had to adapt my style of play. I got pretty banged up my freshman year and had to adjust. One way I did that was to not let anything get me down. I like to just get out there and give my all for whatever shift I'm going to play.”
Teammate Tanner Glass also weighed in. “I've never met a person like Dan Shribman,” said Glass. “He is a character, the life of the locker room. Sometimes you'd wish he'd shut up because he's always talking but he does it with this big smile on his face and he makes you laugh. He's a really positive influence to be around.”
For Shribman the accolades make him slightly uncomfortable. “I just enjoy what I'm doing and I'm happy that others like watching me but for me that's not what it's about.”
Shribman came into Dartmouth as part of an eight-member class for 2007. Joining a forward-heavy team, the rookie knew that he might not see much playing time right away.
“Obviously each freshman comes in thinking he's good enough to be a top-line power play guy for four years,” Shribman said with a smile. “That's what you have to expect if you want to play at this level. I had hoped to play a lot but I honestly didn't know.”
Gaudet never doubted that Shribman would become a player the Big Green could count on. In four years at Dartmouth, Shribman has accumulated 22 points (9g, 13a) in 101 games. But it's more than the points that Shribman brings to the ice.
“Dan has given his all for our program,” Gaudet said. “He plays with so much energy, courage and passion. He can make so many things happen when he's out there. He completely embodies what our team is about, both on and off the ice.
“Dan's a gritty, hard-nosed player who plays every shift the same way,” Glass said. “He's not scared of anything, he puts his head down and goes into the corner and takes a beating every night. He manages to log big minutes and protect the puck. We know whenever Shrib goes into the corner, he's not going to give up easily.”
While Shribman personifies what Gaudet wants for his team, he also has the makeup for what most Ivy League institutions want in their students.
He's been named Academic All-ECACHL for the past two years and currently carries a 3.65 GPA, majoring in economics and history.
“For the next two years I plan on working in investment banking in New York City, and after that I have no idea,” Shribman said. “I will be one of the few seniors not playing hockey next year. I'll miss it but this is the next step for me.”
As a way to show he has energy for more than just hockey, Shribman spent the spring of 2006 volunteering in South Africa. It was an opportunity he termed “mind-boggling”.
“I taught school for a couple of townships, helped coach soccer and worked at an orphanage,” he explained. “I can't say enough about my time there. Since the trip was not through Dartmouth, I made up the classes I was going to miss before even going. I lived with a friend of mine as well as a group of young people from England who were there doing the same thing.”
Shribman says that trip has changed his way of thinking. “The most amazing thing about going there was seeing that level of poverty first hand and in comparing our cultures. They can't even conceive with what we have here in America and what our values are. It makes you feel like you want to do more and makes you feel fortunate for what you have.”
Gaudet says that Shribman's trip and his experiences in South Africa are not a surprise. “He's always been a role model so I wasn't shocked when he told me where he was going,” Gaudet explained. “He's incredibly intelligent and has a good perspective on things. Danny's going to make a difference in whatever he chooses to do.”
As choices go, Shribman's decision to come to Dartmouth was actually a hard one, despite the fact his grandfather and uncle both attended.
“It was tough at first because I was deciding between Dartmouth and Harvard,” Shribman said. “But I determined that Dartmouth had the best combination of school, athletics and social life.”
So with graduation around the corner and the rest of his life ahead of him, off Shribman goes. And goes and goes.
