‘Saints Go Social’ for Hockey Game Against Clarkson

Jan. 28: The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team will give fans a unique, inside look into women's college hockey on Saturday.

The team is hosting "Saints Go Social" during the home game against Clarkson on Saturday, February 2, at 3 p.m. in Appleton Arena. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Athletics Department, University Communications office and Libraries & IT Division, will feature behind-the-scenes videos and interviews, social media updates and photos from behind the St. Lawrence bench. Meanwhile, fans at Appleton Arena and those unable to attend can participate in a variety of social media contests, including one for a new iPad Mini that will be given away to a spectator in attendance.

Each member of the women's hockey team will wear a new jersey that will feature the athletics department's Twitter handle, @SLUsaints, on the front and the player's handle on the back.

The women's hockey team had the idea for the event during a team practice earlier this season when the team was discussing Twitter, said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells.

"Many current and future students live their lives very publicly through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other online social media forums. We often hear about the mistakes college athletes make on social media and almost all of those are unintentional," he said. "As the head coach, I want to be proactive with my team and teach them about the good aspects of using social media while also making sure they understand they are public figures and need to be aware of everything they post, tweet and share. There's no better way to do that than by having fun with it, and that's what we'll be doing on Saturday."

Wells also wants to use the event to educate community members about how to stay safe on social media sites. Posters, announcements and handouts featuring fun facts about social media will be available at the game, as well as the St. Lawrence men's hockey game against Colgate University on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

"‘Saints Go Social' is a way for us to showcase a great rivalry with Clarkson, to create a buzz around two games at Appleton on Saturday, educate our student-athletes and coaches about the do's and don'ts of social media and have a tremendous amount of fun," added Coach Wells.

To complement the game-day efforts, a guest speaker will come to campus earlier in the week to talk with student-athletes and coaches about their digital identity. Mark Anbinder, who works in the office of Marketing & Communications in Campus Life at Cornell University, will give a talk, "Being Yourself in a Social Media World," on Wednesday, January 30.

More information regarding "Saints Go Social," including the iPad mini contest, will be announced this week on Twitter via @SLUsaints. To take part in the conversation and participate in the contests, be sure to follow the #herewegoSAINTS hashtag.