Thomas Dion is an American retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Boston University.[1]

Tom Dion
Born (1969-04-22) April 22, 1969 (age 55)
Massena, New York, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Right
Played for Boston University
Wheeling Thunderbirds
Playing career 1987–1993

Career

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Dion was a consistent producer from the blueline for the Terriers for parts of five seasons. During his first two years with the team, Dion led the defense in scoring but BU didn't have much success team-wise. He played on Team USA at the 1989 World Junior Championships along with future NHL stars like Jeremy Roenick and Mike Modano. Despite the talent on the team, the US finished 5th with a .500 record.

During what was to be his junior season, Dion was felled by a season-ending injury after just 3 games and sat out the remainder of the year with a medical redshirt. In his absence, the Terriers went on a surprising run in the 1990 NCAA Tournament, reaching the Frozen Four. When he returned, the Terriers improved upon their record from the year before and won the Hockey East championship. The Terriers received the second eastern seed and dominated in their first three national tournament games to make the 1991 NCAA championship game. Dion had led a defense that had surrendered just 5 goals to that point so when the team took a 3–0 lead after the first period everything pointed to BU winning the title. Unfortunately for Dion, Northern Michigan had one of the strongest offenses in NCAA history and the Wildcats scored 6 goals in just over a period to take a commanding lead. Boston University charged back and eventually tied the game, forcing overtime. Three extra periods were needed but in the end BU ended up on the wrong side of the score and Dion was denied a championship.[2]

For his senior season, Dion was named team captain and led the Terriers to an excellent record in the regular season. Dion was one of the key contributors in BU's third consecutive Beanpot championship.[3] With all signs pointing to the Terriers competing for another championship, the team collapsed in the playoffs. The Terriers were beaten by long-time rival Boston College in the conference quarterfinals, causing the team to receive a 4th-seed for the NCAA Tournament. Boston University received a poor draw for the first round and lost to Michigan State in their only game.

Dion signed a professional contract after the season, playing the following year with the Wheeling Thunderbirds. Despite posting good numbers for a first-year pro, he decided to retire after the year.

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Boston University Hockey East 34 8 16 24 40
1988–89 Boston University Hockey East 33 3 15 18 40
1989–90 Boston University Hockey East 3 0 0 0 4
1990–91 Boston University Hockey East 40 6 14 20 14
1991–92 Boston University Hockey East 35 5 12 17 22
1992–93 Wheeling Thunderbirds ECHL 60 5 17 22 76
NCAA totals 145 22 57 79 132

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1989 United States WJC 5th 7 0 1 1 0

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-Hockey East First Team 1991–92 [4]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1991–92 [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Boston University men's Hockey 2017-18 Record Book" (PDF). Boston University Terriers. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  3. ^ "BM 1992-02-03 Beanpot Semifinal post-game interview with Tom Dion and David Sacco". YouTube. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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