By Brooke Killgore, Head Beat Writer
CANTON, MA— A lot from the Tennity Ice Pavilion this summer is missing. The harsh scratching of blades upon the ice, the riff of a guitar in “The Boys Are Back” by Dropkick Murphys, and more importantly, Syracuse trademarked orange jerseys. Almost 150 days ago, fans, players, and staff celebrated the end of the 2023-24 season.
But over 300 miles away in Canton, Massachusetts, a bit of Syracuse hockey is alive and well. And it’s thanks to the efforts of senior Anthony (Tony) Larkin.
All stories start with a beginning. Most hockey players find their love of the sport from a young age, sometimes thanks to a specific player or team. Growing up in Massachusetts means skating is a lifestyle—unless you needed some persuading like a young Tony in 2004.
Larkin has held a stick and donned skates from the age of three—much to his protest in his youth. But after the Boston Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup revival, Larkin realized he had fallen in love. Watching in his parents' neon-green basement decorated in black and gold, his dreams of hoisting the Cup began to unfold.
His summers consisted of youth hockey camps alongside his two brothers and occasionally working for his father, Steven, at a family-owned iron factory, “Larkin Iron Works.” A graduate of Boston College High School’s program, he also played three years for the South Shore Kings: a Tier III Junior A hockey team in Foxboro.
In fall 2021, Larkin began his higher education at Syracuse University, pursuing a degree in communications. In his first season as an Orange, the left wing appeared in 24 games and produced 11 points (6 G, 5 A) with three power-play goals. With a strong start under his belt, he looked for any opportunity to improve his game in the off-season—with no luck.
While playing the sport for a registered team was great during the season, Larkin was left with little to no out-of-season choices when he returned home for the summer.
“I wanted to fill the void of the lack of summer skates for my Syracuse teammates and for all college-aged players,” Larkin said. And that he did.
Larkin founded what was originally called “TVLHOCKEY” (a nod to his full name) and centered his business at Cadillac Ice Arena—formerly Walpole Ice Arena. His camps consisted of warmups, and some flow drills and then transitioned to scrimmaging—which essentially reflected a high-school captain's practice.
But it seemed to not stick.
“I didn't know what I was doing half the time. [But I realized] that kids wanted to just be on the ice. I wasn't necessarily making any money with [the weekly skills] and wasn’t breaking even with the ice bill. I needed more guys to show up. So I changed from skills to a weekly scrimmage.”
After the switch, Larkin went from around 12-15 players showing up to nearly double. The weekly scrimmages soon sparked the idea for organized games. In January 2022, Larkin officially rebranded to “Limitless Hockey,” moved the new program to the Canton Ice House, and began “The Frozen Jungle” — an official summer collegiate hockey league.
Backed up by some of his high school buddies, Nolan Anderson (Providence College), Cody Porcello (Worcester State Univ.), Liam Kenney (Concordia Ann Arbor), and Aidan Burke (Quincy College), Larkin began promoting his new league. He was joined by ‘Cuse teammates, Sam Hutchinson, Evan Vassilovski, Max Gargurevich, and former goaltender Nick Manusous.
Larkin also credits Syracuse forward Brock Alvers and Lucas Skolnick—his former Day Hall roommates—for letting him share his ideas and “constantly ramble.” They are some of his biggest supporters.
After his sophomore year at SU, he decided to go big.
The rising junior collaborated with former SU Men’s Hockey player and social media sensation Mackenzie Murphy, founder of “The Hockey House Podcast,” to spread the word about Limitless Hockey. Larkin’s goal was to market his league to non-varsity hockey players and his former teammate had that following. Murphy posted a graphic Larkin had created on Instagram and around 20 players signed up for a “Hockey House” team within 48 hours of the post.
After the graphic’s success on social media, Larkin was able to bring on several sponsors to help support the league.
“I am so thankful for Murphy…We had similar target audiences and I wanted to fill a demand [for hockey]. I knew I could do it because Massachusetts is such a hockey state, and anybody from here that played hockey will tell you that the sport doesn't end here. There just wasn't anybody doing what I was doing.”
The Syracuse representation only grew from there. In addition to the original SU crew, defensemen Carter Rugg and Kavveh Bahery, “Syracuse Hockey Network” broadcaster Colby Ratel, and goaltenders John Angelino and Luc Gagnon all now play in the league. Additionally, former Syracuse players Ryan Gagnon and Pat O’Hara also played in the Frozen Jungle.
In the summer of 2023, the Frozen Jungle expanded into four teams with 60+ players from various universities, colleges, and Junior hockey programs. Some of these players encompass the ACHA and NCAA DII /DIII. That same year, the number of teams jumped from four to eight. Larkin relocated to the BOCH Ice Center in Dedham to accommodate the increase in participation and make it more accessible.
Teams compete across an eight-game regular season. The top four teams will then compete in the playoffs for the Kenneth Larkin Memorial Cup. This is a tribute to Larkin’s late grandfather, a goalie committed to Northeastern before being drafted to serve in the Navy during the Korean War.
Now in 2024, the Frozen Jungle has expanded past solely collegiate-level hockey. The program has incorporated a girls' high school league (around eight teams) alongside a women’s collegiate three-on-three league (with three teams). And for the high-school boys, Larkin says their group is coming soon.
The Frozen Jungle and Limitless Hockey have become a household name in the state of Massachusetts and have followed Larkin back to Syracuse. When ‘Cuse took on Liberty back in January, the now senior was featured on an ESPN+ segment covering his summer program.
“I didn’t expect the league to take off as quickly as it did,” he said in the interview. “The support has been overwhelming.”
Larkin is already looking towards the future. He hopes to launch a couple of tournament teams for U-14 and U-16 players in the New England area. In addition, he wants to promote an upcoming gear drive with donations from the Syracuse men’s and women’s hockey programs.
You can catch Larkin and the Orange back on the ice at Tennity Pavilion in the fall. The 2024-2025 schedule has been released.
Contact me:
X: @BKillgore13
Email: bnkillgo@syr.edu
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