AMHL Thursday: Google and Goggles

Results: 12,000 in .03 seconds when you Google AMHL veteran, Babson College professor, and author Andrew “Zach” Zacharakis’ name. Most of these links are about the books he has written about starting a business or quotes from reporters seeking his wisdom about entrepreneurship.

One such quote appeared in the print version of the Boston Globe on June 25, which got me to thinking about the man who most of the world knows for his eminence of all things entrepreneurial. The reporter quoted Zach about determining one’s passions.

The astute Zacharakis suggested that passion should be sought on a daily basis and that you should “ask parents, mentors, and friends. Try to match skills you have with your passion.”

So anticipating my game against his Bruins last Thursday, I asked Zach’s “friends” not about his passion for teaching and writing but rather his hockey skills.

AMHL Webmaster and AMHL’s all-time points leader Dana Salvo said, “Zach has great vision on the ice, despite the fact that he wears those crazy Kareem goggles, and the fact that he’s never looking in the same direction that he's skating.”

Those goggles are often dangling around his neck—useless, unless, as my teammate Scott Lauder suggested minutes before the game, the professor decides to look down to read something.

Zach’s teammate, Peter Kokas had told me, “Zach is a threat at both ends of the ice...meaning he is a threat against his opponents and a threat against his teammates.”

For the first two periods of Thursday’s game, we, the haven’t-won-a-game-in-our-last-six attempts-Avalanche, not only kept the “Goggled One” (or if you prefer, the “Googled One”) from venturing onto the scoresheet but maintained a business-like approach toward building a two-goal lead against the Bs.

With seven-some minutes on the clock, Zach carried the puck toward the Avalanche blue line, on a collision course with teammate Michael Moore. The goggled warrior lifted his head—out of character—just in time to avoid his Bruins’ teammate.

AMHL attorney, Dave Mello had told me about Zach, “What skills he has - he makes the most of them. He's a real pain in the ass when you're opposing him and a great asset when he’s on your team. He’s got a hard wrist shot that he gets off quickly when he’s swooping into the offensive zone. Maybe it’s the easy life of a college professor, or maybe he’s found a way to suck the energy from the co-eds, either way, he doesn’t seem to tire easily. Like I said - a pain in the ass.

Later in the period, Zach attacked the Avalanche blue line again. He knew where he was going and so did I. Quirking toward the center, he released the puck. I stood my ground, waiting for the puck to hit a shin pad, but it went through my legs and through the wickets of my goalie.

Recounting the goal after the game in the donut room after a 4–6 loss, Zach said, “That’s about the only thing we did right.”

That, plus he didn’t knock out a teammate. And he kept his goggles up the whole game so that now Googlers will know Zach for more than just his business knowledge.