Fess making impact for BC
Sidney Fess of Clifton Park, the 2020 Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) Defenseman of the Year, has been a solid blueline presence for the Boston College Eagles Division I program.
In a 2-1 overtime win over Providence on Nov. 13, Fess chipped the puck to herself on the boards and carried it below the goal line where she fed a teammate for the game-winning goal.
Fess scored her first goal in a Nov. 21 game against rival Boston University. In a 2-1 win against New Hampshire in October, she assisted on both goals.
“I’m very fortunate with how much playing time I’ve been getting and the situations I’m being put into, being so young,” the 5-foot-7 sophomore said.
She gets inspiration from her phenomenal teammates, including Olympic gold medal winner Cayla Barnes, a senior defenseman who made the final 23-player roster to play on her second Olympic team. Joining Barnes on Team USA is Megan Keller, who graduated from BC in 2019 and was featured as an Olympian between periods of the NHL Winter Classic on Saturday night.
“There are so many influential players, nowadays everyone’s so skilled,” Fess said of her BC teammates, who are also defenders. “These are really just really great people who are also really great players and make an impact on and off the ice.”
Fess also points to Boston College associate head coach Courtney Kennedy as one of the women who have had the biggest impact on her game.
“Coach Kennedy is just a great coach, a great person way beyond hockey. She really cares about her players and having her as a coach has been huge,” she said.
Kennedy, a former Olympian and NCAA champion, is an assis
tant coach for the national team.
On Feb. 3 in Beijing, the USA women’s hockey team is scheduled to kick off its defense of a gold medal earned during the 2018 Olympics.
Fess’ connection to the Eagles began when she attended the North American Hockey Academy and competed in the Junior Women’s Hockey League. She played for former Eagles defensive star Toni Ann Miano during the 2019-20 season, and in her three years at the academy she skated in 68 games, recording 74 points on 17 goals and 57 assists, winning the league championship in 2018 and 2020.
With a freshman season at Boston College shortened and marred by COVID -19, including the cancellation of the Beanpot Tournament, Fess said this season started strong and felt more like normal. Her parents Chris and Chrissy Fess have been able to attend games. Her dad Chris Fess played college hockey at Plattsburgh and went on to play professionally for several years in the East Coast Hockey League. Sidney Fess and her brother Brendan, now in his first year playing for Stony Brook’s club program, were coached by their dad.
“When I was little I saw my older brother playing. I kind of wanted to be like him. Our backyard had a little pond, so I started out there. I learned to skate and stayed with it,” she said. “I always had my dad as a coach and played with boys until my sophomore year of high school. He was tough on me. He pushed me, but he always knew how to bring out that edge in me. But we always separated hockey from our home life, so it wasn’t too much.”
But when she enrolled at North American Hockey Academy, women coaches and teammates with similar goals provided the most influence. And the experiences of playing at a highlevel hockey academy while still enrolled at Shenendehowa paid off. She also played three years of lacrosse at Shen.
“I think it was 100 percent worth it — both hockey-wise and with the friendships I’ve made,” she said about her experience at the academy. “The people I met there I still talk to almost every day. Being around people with a similar mindset from all over the country and Canada, we all play against each other and text each other. Those kinds of friendships can last forever,” she said.
Her focus now is getting Boston College back into being one of the top-ranked teams in the country. Off to a slow start and missing one of the top defensive players in the country to Team USA and a key coach, the Eagles are 10-8 overall, 8-5 in conference play.
“We are concentrating on getting BC back on top where we should be,” Fess said.