Wynters has been affiliated with Hockey East for fifteen of the conference's twenty-five years. She is currently entering her eleventh year as a full
time employee, third as associate commissioner. Prior to her promotion, Wynters most recently served as director of marketing and special events
from 2002-2006. As Commissioner Joe Bertagna's chief assistant, her primary responsibilities include the day-to-day operations of both the men's and
women's leagues, along with the administration of tournaments and special events, marketing and branding initiatives, and
the licensing and sponsorship programs.
Wynters was the driving force behind the creation of both "Skating Strides Against Breast Cancer" and the Hockey East
Kids' Club. The inaugural Skating Strides event raised more than $20,000 for breast cancer awareness and research, while
at the same time increased attendance at women's hockey games and gave the student-athletes the opportunity to give back
to the communities in which they study and play hockey. That fundraising figure increased to $33,000 last season, and once
again, all proceeds were split and donated to local breast cancer charities including the Friends of Mel Foundation and the
American Cancer Society. "Skating Strides" was nationally recognized in June 2007 by NACDA/NACMA with a gold medal for
"Single Day Attendance Promotion of an Olympic Sport". The Kids' Club program provides free admission to selected Hockey
East games, along with Meet & Greet autograph sessions, photos with mascots, and other special events throughout the college hockey season. Over 500 youngsters from throughout New England
registered for, and participated in, the kids' club program during the initial three years.
Also during Kathy's tenure, the Hockey East corporate sponsorship program has grown to include
several new partnerships, many breaking ground beyond traditional hockey companies. Wynters
continue to oversee the sponsorship program working closely with John Mathews and his team at
Eident, a sports marketing firm located in Providence, R.I., hired by the conference to increase
sponsorship sales.
Wynters previously served as Hockey East's Assistant Commissioner from 1988 to 1991, before
going on to work for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. She spent three years with the Devils as
Marketing Director, coordinating licensing and souvenir merchandising. Wynters also spent five
years as marketing manager for PictureTel Corporation. A native of Quincy, MA, the former Kathy
Walsh earned a B.S. degree in marketing from Providence College in 1982. She began her career
while an undergraduate, as a three-year intern with the men's hockey team. Following graduation,
she served the Friars as both Assistant Sports Information Director and then as Director of Athletic
Marketing. While at PC, before Hockey East had a full-time staff, Wynters worked with former PC
AD and then HE Commissioner Lou Lamoriello on the launch of the conference in 1983, and then
coordinated the first two Hockey East championship tournaments in 1985 and 1986, as well as the
NCAA Men's Frozen Four in 1986. In 1988, Wynters moved to Hockey East full-time. Among her
earlier accomplishments at Hockey East, Wynters worked with Joe Bertagna in coordinating the
first and only "Hockeyfest" events, combining the ECAC and Hockey East championships into single
weekend events from 1989-91.
Wynters and her husband Chuck, an on-ice official for Hockey East from 1988-2006, are the parents of two children, daughter Annie (17) and son C.J. (16). The Wynters family resides in Waltham.
Pete Souris enters his third season as
Hockey East's Director of Public Relations.
He was very involved
in the 25th
anniversary celebration,
as he oversaw
the production of the
league's 25th anniversary
DVD and has
played an integral role
in the improvements
to hockeyeastonline.
com over the last two years.
Souris brings 14 years of experience to
the post, and had been affiliated with the UNH
athletic department since he was a student
in the mid-1990's. After earning his BS in
Kinesiology: Sport Studies in December of
2001, Souris was promoted to the post of
assistant director of media relations the following
summer, and three years later was named
associate director. In 2006, he also assumed
responsibility for managing the department's
web site (unhwildcats.com).
In addition to serving as the primary media
contact for the UNH men's hockey team for
seven seasons, Souris was the lead contact
for the school's women's volleyball team for
10 years. Souris also served as primary media
coordinator for the NCAA men's hockey Northeast
Regionals in Manchester, NH, in 2004 and
2007. He has also worked the last nine Frozen
Fours, dating back to 1999-2000.
Souris is also a member of the New
England Patriots gameday media relations
staff. He also does freelance television work
as a graphics coordinator, scorebug operator
and statistician. He has also worked in a media
support capacity for the Boston Red Sox at the
2003 ALCS and ALDS, as well as serving as
a statistician for Fox Sports National for the
2007 ALCS at Fenway Park.
Souris, a 1995 graduate of Beverly High
School, resides in Beverly, Mass.
Andrew Zagorianakos will assist in day-to-day operations in both the men¹s
and women's league in the Wakefield office throughout the season.
Zagorianakos, a Lincoln, Maine native, worked in the UMaine athletic
department for the last five years, most recently as a student supervisor at
Alfond Arena in operations office. His responsibilities included maintenance
of the ice surface, as one of five Zamboni drivers to make ice at Alfond. In
2010-2011, Zagorianakos was nominated for the Maine Student Employee of the
Year Award for his efforts as part of the Alfond Arena operations staff.
Zagorianakos also worked in the event management office in the Maine
athletic department with all varsity programs. He assisted with the game day
setup of scoreboards and instant replay equipment, along with preparing
event timelines and the scheduling of the student work staff throughout the
season. He also served as assistant equipment manager for the men's team at
Maine from 2007-2009, dealing with the day-to-day equipment needs of the
Black Bears program, which included sharpening skates, equipment repair and
the inventory and ordering of new equipment.
Richard DeCaprio enters his fourth season as supervisor of officials. DeCaprio, a longtime observer
for Hockey East and a former on-ice official, succeeded 12-year veteran supervisor Brendan Sheehy
in 2006.
DeCaprio, a native of Arlington, Mass., has enjoyed a wide range of hockey experiences since
his graduation from Boston University in 1968. Following his playing days for Jack Kelley, DeCaprio
became a referee, working high school and college games, including Hockey East games, for more
than two decades. Toward the end of his officiating career, he began assigning high school games in
the Greater Boston area.
Professionally, DeCaprio has been a teacher and administrator in the Arlington Public Schools for nearly 40 years. After
serving as an assistant coach in both football and ice hockey at Arlington, DeCaprio succeeded the legendary Eddie Burns
as head hockey coach of Arlington's storied program in 1997. In that time, he has compiled an outstanding record of
129-55-22, leading the Spy Ponders to six league titles and six appearances in the prestigious "Super Eight" schoolboy
tournament.
His contributions to high school hockey have earned him
induction into the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches
Association's Hall of Fame as both a referee and a coach. He
was also inducted into the Arlington High School Hall of Fame
in its initial year.
Beyond these experiences, DeCaprio enjoyed two different
stints as an assistant coach at UMass Lowell (1969-70 and
1989-91) and also served as a scout for the St. Louis Blues
from 1985 to 1988. An outstanding teacher, DeCaprio has also
directed the Spy Pond Power Skating Hockey School and Clinic
since 1980. He and his wife Marsha reside in Chelmsford.
John Jones will serve as assistant to the Supervisor
of Officials in his second season, after a 23-
year career as a Hockey East on-ice official. Jones
will assist DeCaprio with the observer program, as
well as in the development of new officials and the
review of game tapes during the season.
He serves as a quality control specialist for Alfa
Aesar in Haverill, Mass.
Has been a member of NIHOA since 1983. Jones has served
as an official since 1978 starting at the youth hockey level.
Jones and his wife Anne reside in Wilmington, Mass.
Jim Prior joined Hockey East at the start of the 2000-01
season as the Coordinator of Minor Officials. He assists
in the assigning of goal judges and other off-ice game officials,
and is always the "voice of the championship" as
the PA announcer at the Hockey East tournament every
March. Prior has long served as the PA announcer for
Boston University, Arlington and Arlington Catholic high
schools, and recently added Wentworth College. He has
also filled the role at the Beanpot for several years and has
worked many NCAA regional events as well as the 1998
and 2004 Frozen Fours.
Prior lives in Arlington with his wife Anne. The couple has
two sons, Dennis and Michael, and four grandchildren (two
boys and two girls).
