Mitch Calvert
Fort Frances native Mark Loveday will be wearing a Shattuck St. Mary’s Sabres jersey this fall.
The youngster spent last season tending the pipes for the local K of C Knights PeeWee ‘AA’ squad and his strong play landed him a spot with the Faribault, Mn.-based boarding school’s Bantam Tier 1 team.
Loveday only is going into Grade 8 but his dad, Brad, said the opportunity is just too good to pass up.
“It was very hard for us, especially for my wife, Marcy, to send our son to a boarding school this young,” Loveday admitted.
“But Joe [Basaraba] came over with his parents [to talk about the experience he had playing for SSM’s prep team last year] and they said the same things, but that it was worth it in the long run.
“It’s definitely an opportunity of a lifetime,” Loveday stressed.
Mike Allison, who coached Loveday with the Knights last season, said the young goalie is more than ready for the next step.
“He’s a real mature young man and was a leader on our hockey team last year, and really came a long way,” Allison enthused.
“He’s real strong, position-wise, in goal and I’m excited to see him pursue his dream.”
Loveday has been working alongside fellow goalie Ryan Faragher on his conditioning and training this summer, and goes down for four days of orientation on Aug. 25.
Classes begin there Aug. 29.
“We went down for an evaluation last summer and it’s been a long process, but we finally wrapped things up,” Loveday noted.
Loveday said they want their son to be able to play hockey and get a quality education at the same time—and there are few better alternatives than Shattuck at this stage in his life.
“To be honest, how many truly make it?” Loveday reasoned. “If they can go to university and get a scholarship out of the deal, then that’s great, and that’s what we really want for Mark.
“It’s one of the best hockey schools in the country, and we’ll have to manage [without him home],” he noted.
