Syracuse University Hockey History Project
The Syracuse University Hockey History Project is an ongoing effort to preserve, organize, and showcase more than a century of Orange hockey. Working alongside longtime program historian Peter Hayward, Park Creative transformed decades of scattered stats, photos, stories, and records into a modern digital archive. The result is a living, searchable platform built to honor the players, coaches, staff, and community who shaped SU Hockey.
A Digital Home
For 100+ Years of Orange Hockey
Paired with a landscape screenshot of the Timeline or Homepage
The history of Syracuse hockey has lived in file folders, photo albums, personal collections, and memories spread across generations. Park Creative built a centralized digital ecosystem — complete with season archives, alumni profiles, player stats, historic rosters, and an interactive timeline — allowing fans and alumni to explore SU Hockey’s story like never before.
2025
A Custom Database Built for a Community of Thousands
From the earliest club teams of the 1930s to today’s ACHA powerhouse, the program’s history is extensive — and Park Creative designed a database powerful enough to support it. Every team, player, coach, record, and artifact is interconnected, making it easy to browse by season, discover alumni, view linked photos/documents, and uncover forgotten chapters of SU Hockey history.
Syracuse University Hockey History Project Overview
Overview
For more than a century, Syracuse University Men’s Hockey has built a legacy defined by passion, grit, and a community that spans generations. When team historian Peter Hayward approached Park Creative, the challenge was clear: transform decades of scattered research — stats, photos, documents, stories, rosters, and memories — into a modern digital archive worthy of the program’s history.
The Challenge
The data existed… but everywhere. Handwritten stat sheets, scanned yearbooks, newspaper clippings, Facebook posts, Google Drive folders, emails from alumni, notes from coaches, and photos stored across multiple platforms. There was no single place to explore the program’s rich history, and no system to organize ongoing contributions. The task was massive: design a scalable structure, connect thousands of pieces of historical content, and build a site flexible enough to grow for decades.
Our Approach
Park Creative partnered closely with Peter Hayward to understand every era of SU Hockey and map the relationships between teams, players, seasons, records, and historical events. We created a custom database architecture, built a modern and intuitive UI, implemented a robust media tagging system, and developed interactive tools for alumni contributions, donations, and timeline updates — all supported by strong SEO, analytics, and security foundations.
The Result
- 100+ years of teams and rosters
- 1,000+ alumni profiles
- Thousands of linked photos and documents
- A dynamic timeline of historical moments
- A donations and story-submission system
- Searchable stats and records across decades
For alumni, fans, and players, it’s the most complete view of Syracuse Hockey ever created — and a foundation that will continue to grow with every new submission.
The Outcome
What began as a collection of memories has become a living historical platform. The project preserves the legacy of SU Hockey while empowering alumni and fans to contribute to its future. As the archive expands, the partnership between Park Creative and SU Hockey ensures the program’s history will remain accessible, searchable, and celebrated for generations.
“Finding a way to digitally organize and present my research on the history of Syracuse University Men’s Hockey was a daunting task. Kelly was amazing — organized, thorough, and genuinely committed to the project. The website will forever be a work in progress, but we have a great partner in Park Creative for this journey.”
Peter Hayward
Syracuse University Hockey Historian
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
CUSTOM DB
Custom Architecture for 100+ Years of Records
We built a fully relational database that connects players, seasons, stats, teams, documents, and timeline events. Every piece of history — from 1900s photo scans to modern game sheets — is organized, searchable, and linked for maximum discoverability
DIRECTORY
A Community Unified Through Data
The site features a complete alumni hub where visitors can explore hometowns, career paths, stats, teams played for, photos, and more. Team pages include rosters, staff, scoring leaders, records, and associated documents, creating a deeply connected digital community.
TIMELINE
Bringing a Century of Hockey to Life
A fully interactive timeline showcases the program’s biggest moments — championships, rivalries, iconic seasons, and historical turning points. The site also includes tools for donations, story submissions, photo uploads, and ongoing content contributions from alumni and fans.