Rinx owner Tom Palamara took a victory lap this week when Hurricanes goaltender and Long Islander Brandon Bussi brought the Stanley Cup to his crowded ice facility in Hauppauge on Wednesday.
“The first thing he did when he walked in this building, he went right to the north rink,” Palamara told The Post. “Because he wanted to step on the ice with the Cup where he first stepped on the ice as a child — and he had all the kids around him.”
The jubilant moment shared by much of the L.I. hockey community — and fans harmoniously waiting in a seemingly infinite line while wearing Islanders, Rangers and Canes jerseys — is just the latest feather in Palamara’s cap.
He’s been a pioneer in the sport for decades — dating back half a century to when Palamara started the Providence College women’s hockey team in 1974.
The inaugural head coach found himself working underneath future Devils Stanley Cup-winning general manager Lou Lamoriello, who later worked for the Isles.
Palamara said the experience “really started my hockey career,” which led to a role as an off-ice official with the NHL.
More recently, Palamara brought his years of valuable experience back home to the island and has owned the popular venue where top-tier local hockey talent has trained for over two decades. He was also named president of the New York State Amateur Hockey Association earlier in the year.
When reflecting on Bussi setting the Cup down on the Rinx ice surface and hallways, Palamara had one word to describe the full-circle moment: “amazing.”
Although only a portion of those fans were able to get in the building before Bussi had to leave — Huntington’s Greg Packer was the first to arrive, lining up at 5:30 a.m. for the 10:15 a.m. start — the first Suffolk County Cup champ made it worth everyone’s while.
Bussi walked the Stanley Cup to the seemingly infinite line outdoors that snaked into nearby park land, so everybody who showed up could get an eyeball view of him with the coveted hardware.
“It was so good to see the fans,” Palamara said, “but also to see how Brandon really took care of the fans.”
