Ice in His Veins

Local rink standout Cole Maier is heading to Germany to continue his hockey career.

BY DEBBIE WALSH

While some youngsters were learning to tie their shoes at the tender age of 5, Pequannock’s Cole Maier was learning to lace up his ice skates. He’s been skating ever since and is now taking his talents to the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the German Ice Hockey League.

Maier’s first team hockey experience was with the Pequannock Golden Panthers at Mennen Arena. Like many kids in town, he was exposed to a variety of sports and played soccer, basketball and baseball, with his Little League team earning a state title along the way. He swam with the Pequannock Piranhas in the summer.

“It was nice growing up in a smaller town,” Maier says. “You could ride your bike anywhere. It was just fun playing sports with all your buddies from when we were 8 years old to high school.”

A Family of Athletes

Now 28, Maier comes from a solid sports pedigree. His father, Bill, and uncles were stand-out basketball players at Pequannock Township High School (PTHS). His mother, Madeline, a physical education teacher at Hillview Elementary School, was a hoops star at PTHS. But young Maier felt he didn’t inherit the basketball gene and worked instead to excel at hockey.

Becoming a hockey professional almost seemed predestined: Maier was born on June 24, 1995—the day the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup for the first time. They won again in 2000 and 2003, and Maier became an avid fan, his first team jersey emblazoned with Scott Niedermayer’s name.

“They were such a good team when I was growing up,” says Maier, “with Scott Stevens, Brian Gionta and Martin Brodeur—just fun teams to watch.”

School and Beyond

For high school, Maier first went to Don Bosco Prep, which is a member of the Gordon Conference, considered the elite New Jersey hockey league. There, he faced players such as Johnny Gaudreau, who went on to play for the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, and Kenny Agostino, who played for several NHL teams and is now with Russia’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

Maier decided to focus his athletics and devoted himself more fully to his strongest and favorite sport, though he still managed to squeeze in track after hockey season ended. “I like hockey because it’s an allaround fast and physical sport,” he says.

But Maier left Bosco for the Taft School in Connecticut, known for stellar academics and sports programs. That school encourages students to play a sport each season, so Maier added soccer to his schedule.

After high school, Maier played for the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League, a junior-development league, then played for Union College. Maier’s favorite college hockey moments include several exciting playoff runs and a Mayor’s Cup overtime victory in which he scored the winning goal.

Following his NCAA career, Maier joined the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, the foremost development league for the NHL. In his top season of 2021–2022, he scored 17 goals and tallied 37 points (including assists) in 68 games, garnering him the team’s MVP award.

Maier enjoyed his time in Canada. “We shared everything with the Winnipeg Jets, so all our facilities were NHL, which was nice,” he says. “People in Canada are really into hockey. It’s a whole different animal up there.”

A New Chapter

After playing in a development league for several years, Maier felt the time was right for a change, and he signed a one-year deal with the Ice Tigers. The German league plays fewer games and requires less travel—appealing from a lifestyle standpoint. Maier has spent significant time away from home since he was 16 but is happy not to start his latest adventure alone: His girlfriend, Laura, is going with him.

When not on the ice, Maier, a surfing enthusiast, heads down to the Jersey Shore, where he hangs 10 whenever he can—often a challenge given his rigorous off-season training schedule. Not all his hockey coaches knew about this hobby, but his college coach approved because it promoted leg strength, balance and overall conditioning. “I went to Sea Girt recently and like Long Beach Island, which is a favorite spot,” he says.

Maier doesn’t know what post-hockey life will bring. His college major in managerial economics could lead to a career in finance. He is not ruling anything out for when it’s time to hang up his skates, especially at the shore. “Surfing is super fun,” he says. “I wish I could do more of it—and I guess I’ll be able to after hockey.”

Debbie Walsh has 30 years of experience writing for newspapers and, more recently, as a ghost blogger. A semiretired sports mom, she enjoys dining out with friends, reading and playing golf.