Tallman Dedication Shows More to Life Than Just Hockey

On the first weekend in November, a group of extraordinary friends convened in Ithaca. They traveled from New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida and California to honor their friend who, without hesitation, would do the same for each and every one of them. Eleven Chi Psi fraternity brothers (Class of '90) and plus one Sigma Nu (Class of '91) took an opportunity to give something back to their school and made the trip to dedicate a hockey locker at Lynah Rink in the name of Mike Tallman (Class of '90): a man who, at the very least, deserves his own permanent place within the Cornell hockey program. 
 
After an illustrious career as a student-athlete at Ithaca High School, Mike Tallman lived his childhood dream by attending Cornell University and playing on the varsity ice hockey team. Mike worked hard in the Cornell hockey program and won't hesitate to tell you, in his self-effacing way, that Cornell legend Joe Nieuwendyk stole his spotlight in the late ‘80's. Most importantly, and the reason for this destination dedication, his career at Cornell off the ice was more fulfilling than he'd ever dreamed. Mike spent four solid years getting an education and developing powerful and enduring friendships with his hockey teammates, his fraternity brothers, his classmates, local pub-owners, restaurateurs, and professors alike. Mike was never a kid to sit around, he didn't waste a precious moment at Cornell. He took every opportunity to impress the offensive line of the football team by bench-pressing 300 pounds with hardly a grimace on his face, or the opportunity to crush a golf ball 300 yards down the middle of the fairway, and luckily that hasn't changed.
 
In April 2003, Mike tragically suffered a life-changing injury playing the sport he loves and needs use of a wheelchair for mobility. In an attempt to forge a support system for Mike, his friends reached out in different forms. They called, wrote and visited. They organized lavish golf outings on Long Island to raise what funds they could to help Mike defray the cost of his rehabilitation. They carried the Cup of Lord Stanley through the streets of Ithaca with similar goals in mind, but that's another testament to the man Mike Tallman is entirely. Before long, the efforts of this group of extraordinary gentlemen were directly motivated by the way Mike navigated himself through his new form of life, with the hands-on help of his most inspiring, always smiling, wife Kristen.
 
On the morning of November 3rd, Kristen, Mike and his friends gathered to formally dedicate a locker in the center of the new hockey dressing room at Lynah Rink. The aura of a storied Ivy League program was immediately reinforced when instructions were given to not step on the enormous white "C" in the middle of the red-rugged floor. Coach Schafer warned that it was bad luck and then followed with an understated but amazingly poignant introduction. He made it clear the morning after the previous night's loss to Princeton that Cornell Hockey program isn't just about the numbers you see on the scoreboard, sometimes not even the result they yield. It's about the kids that show up in that locker room every day of their lives on Cornell's campus and the approach they take to life. On the ice, they're almost celebrities - Ithaca's near-pro franchise that has only ever known a sell-out crowd of rabid fans both locals and students alike. Off the ice, they're just kids, young men navigating their way through the trials and tribulations of combining sport with education. Coach Schafer was trying to figure out how to teach them that every moment of a hockey game, like life, isn't gonna be perfect. 
 
"TRUST AND LIVE" - as painted on the stark white wall in large red letters above the team's stage-door to the Lynah ice rink.
 
Mike took an opportunity to take the floor, steer clear of the "C", and bring the locker room house down on the guys that brought him there for this moment. He shared the story of his childhood dream. How all his life "Little Mike" wanted to play for the "Big Red" and the enormous pride he felt when he pulled that jersey over his head. It was the name on the front of the hockey sweater that motivated him to give it his all. Mike didn't hesitate to thank the men in the room that he met at Cornell for giving him so much strength. Their relationships have endured the test of time and now, 17 years after graduating, delightfully little about their friendship has changed. Then Mike turned very respectfully to his wife and thanked her. Without really knowing where to begin thanking Kristen, he thanked her for being there with their son and daughter, for being his everything, day in and day out.
 
Skip Tague (Class of '90) spoke on behalf of the dedicating group standing in a circle around the white letter "C", and around a seated Michael Tallman. He shared their hope that with Mike's name a permanent fixture in Lynah Rink, Big Red hockey players for years to come would learn by his example. Skip pointed out that now life, in juxtaposition to Coach Schafer's belief about the randomness of a hockey match, isn't always gonna go perfectly either. What matters is how you act in the face of adversity and how you carry yourself off the ice. Skip noted that while Mike may not hold any Cornell scoring records, his record as a father, husband, son, and friend are literally unmatched. In closing, he pointed out that Cornell may have produced better hockey players, but no better, stronger, or mentally tougher man than Mike Tallman and thanked Mike wholeheartedly for teaching him and this group of extraordinary gentlemen those life lessons.
 
As Cornell legend would have it, Mike stuck around after the dedication ended to speak to the team at the request of Coach Schafer.  Schafer wanted them to understand what had gone on in their locker room that morning, and that there were valuable lessons they could take away from it - lessons in motivation and determination and focus.  On Saturday night, November 3rd, Cornell defeated Quinnipiac 5-3 in an extremely spirited performance.  The Big Red has taken 4 of the last 5 games as Mike Tallman's name hangs proudly over a locker in the center of their dressing room. The weekend wasn't about the record books. It was about friendships, and perseverance in the face of adversity. Sometimes those values and winning go hand in hand.
 
Co-authored by Tony Greer and Skip Tague.
Cornell Class of 1990