Fire and Ice:

During his time at Norwich, Shawn Baker has had an impact on both the Northfield and Norwich community. Not only is he one of the leaders of the Norwich men's hockey team, but he is also a licensed firefighter.

"I graduated as a firefighter before coming to Norwich," said Shawn Baker, 21, a criminal justice major from Quebec, Canada. "It's a big responsibility not only playing hockey for Norwich, but also helping serve the community as well."

According to Baker, being a firefighter has been something he saw himself becoming his whole life, as his dad is a police officer.

"My dad is a cop and he always talked to me about cops. The thing about firefighters is they impress me," said Baker.

The idea of helping people and being a positive influence in the community is what attracted Baker to being a firefighter.

"The thing that impresses me the most about firefighters is they don't make anyone angry," Baker said. "They are there to help people any chance they get, and that is what people respect the most."

One of Baker's finest moments was helping in the relief efforts for Tropical Storm Irene.

"We got the call as assistants with the Shrewsbury crew when the flooding started," said Baker.

He helped people out of their houses before bridges washed away. "Some people's only way to safety was to cross the bridge. We had to get people out of their houses as quick as possible to keep them safe," said Baker.

The similarity between firefighters and hockey players, according to Baker, is "trust."

"If I go into a burning house I need to trust that the person I'm going in there with will have my back," Baker said. "It's the same with hockey. You have to trust your teammate is going to do his job so the team can be successful."

Having chemistry with your fellow firefighters and having a game plan is key as well. "It's not about what you do as an individual, but how you work as a team," said Baker.

Team chemistry is one reason why Norwich hockey has been so successful over the recent years.

"We had great chemistry in our past two seasons. Especially last year, we had a lot of returners from our championship team along with a great freshmen class," said Baker. "We played unselfish hockey all year long and it transpired into a successful season."

Baker is confident about this season.

"We have been skating in Montpelier and we have been having some good, high-energy practices so far," said Baker. "We lost three big players in Greg Eskedjian, Chad Anderson and Scott Schroeder but we still have a very strong team this year."

Experience mixed with another great recruiting class will be the keys for another successful season.

"Our returning players have tons of game experience and you mix that with our incoming freshmen class, it gives me nothing but confidence about what our team can achieve this season," said Baker.

Baker has big plans after college.

"I want to become either a firefighter in Ottawa or join the RCP in Canada, which is the equivalent to the FBI in America," said Baker. "Those are my main goals and whichever occupation I can get into first is the one that I will happily take."