Leaving a Mark at Dartmouth Important to Paul Lee

This was originally written for the Dartmouth men's hockey program used for this past games against Brown and Yale at Thompson Arena.

Every time Paul Lee walks into Thompson Arena, he takes a look up at the wall at the east end of the building.

There, stretched out across the wall, are the banners of all the previous Dartmouth championships and accomplishments.

When he looks up, Lee can't help but think about how much he wants to add one of those banners during his time with the Big Green. By doing so, he and his teammates will always occupy a small corner of the Dartmouth rink.

"You want to leave a mark on the school," Lee said. "You see all those banners on the wall every time you come in and while you're practicing. You want to be able to come back some day and have something to look at that you knew you were a part of; something special."

Lee, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound bruising forward, is a throwback to the players of the past. He has the skill to make him an offensive force, but plays the part of a role player who does whatever is asked of him by the coaching staff for the greater good of the team.

"I've given up on setting goals for myself that revolve around stats; I'm over that," Lee remarked. "I'm serious when I say this, and I know everyone else says it too, but I'm playing right now just to win games with this team. That's all that matters."

If winning is his goal there is little doubt that Lee was happy with the outcome of this past weekend's thrilling overtime victory at No. 18 Colgate. Trailing 4-1 entering the third period, Lee and his teammates helped force OT with three scores in the final period of regulation.

After the Raiders scored three of their own in a short span at the end of the second period, the Dartmouth offense came alive to tie the game before eventually getting the winner from senior Doug Jones midway through overtime.

Lee was used, like he has been for most of his shifts this season, as part of an energy line to help not only spark the comeback, but also to play solid defensively that would limit Colgate's opportunities to build on its lead.

"This is my first year really killing penalties and it's so much more fun to look back on a game and know that you were a part of every aspect of it. I just want to contribute to the team and I have been able to do that more this season," the senior winger added.

His style of play is geared on giving 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. That means you won't see him on the scoresheet with many goals or points, but that doesn't reflect heart and total contributions to the game.

"Points are nice, but wins are better," Lee said.

In each of his four seasons in Hanover, Lee's role has continually grown. As a freshman, Lee appeared in just 20 games, a number that only grew by one as a sophomore in 2009-10.

But as a junior last year, Lee suited up in all but one of Dartmouth's 34 games. To this point this season, the Garden City, N.Y., native has played in each of his team's 18 contests.

Now a leader and a veteran on a team with 10 seniors and eight freshmen, Lee has the chance to impart the wisdom learned from old teammates who taught him how to deal with the challenges of the college game.

"There were guys early in my career that helped me get over the fact that I was struggling to get in the lineup on a consistent basis. Older guys like Peter Boldt would take me aside and remind me to keep working hard, and it's not the end of the world as a freshman not to play every night. It's just a game and you have four years to play it."

What does Lee say to some of those younger players facing the same hardships he went through just a few years ago?

"I tell the younger players to make sure they buy into the concept of the team. When you look back on your time here, that's what you will remember: being a part of this team," Lee said.

Approaching 100 games in his career, Lee knows that his time in a Dartmouth sweater may be drawing to its conclusion, but he knows careers are not defined by numbers in a box score.

"There is no certain number of games played that is a goal. You don't think to yourself 'Okay, I've reached it' or as a freshman setting a goal of playing so many games in your career," Lee said.

"It's cool that I have a bunch of guys that I've had the chance to play with a lot over my time here. At the same time, I will also remember the times I spent with the guys who didn't play 100 games."

With just 11 games left in the regular season, those goals of adding a banner to the walls of Thompson Arena are starting to come into focus.

"Obviously we want to win games and championships. That's what we're here to do, and anything less is selling ourselves short. That's the ultimate goal," the Long Island native said fervently. "But first things first, we need to play hard every night and enjoy playing those games.

"If we don't win a championship, is it a failure? No, but you want to be able to look back and know that you did everything you could to try and win one."

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