SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — One of the most iconic trophies in all of sports made a rare stop in Scranton on Monday.
The Stanley Cup's visit to Marywood is all thanks to one special alumnus.
"Family, friends of my family, my grandparents are here. You know, it really means so much to me to bring it back to Scranton," Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Florida Panthers, Mike Joyce, said.
The Stanley Cup made a rare stop at Marywood University in Scranton this Labor Day, but why is it here?
Marywood alum Mike Joyce is the strength and conditioning coach for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
A longstanding tradition allows players, coaches, and members of the championship teams to spend one day with the Stanley Cup.
As part of his day with the cup, he decided to bring it to his alma mater.
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"This place means so much to me, it really does. I really did receive such a wonderful education here. I think it's a wonderful thing that we can have as a community to have such a good university here," Joyce explained.
Joyce is a Scranton native and says his journey with the Panthers wouldn't have been possible without the help of Marywood.
"I was given every, every opportunity, every resource imaginable here at the university. Whether it was being able to assist in the physiology lab or actually given textbooks. I really can't thank Shelby Yeager enough. She brought an internship opportunity to me with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and so that's how I got my start," Joyce shared.
The Pascucci Pavilion was filled with hockey fans and junior hockey players. Some fans, coming from hours away. Others, not so far away. But the common theme among all fans, joy and amazement.
"It's like meeting Santa for the first time as a kid," Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fan Michele Drabot told 28/22 News.
"It's probably the coolest experience of my life, it's insane. Found out about this last week, and I drove through New York City traffic to get here. I couldn't pass up the opportunity," New York Rangers fan Scott Gartley stated.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we just saw the other day that it was coming here, and we knew exactly, we were coming. No doubt," Drabot said.
Marywood president Lisa Lori is grateful Joyce decided to bring the Stanley Cup the the university.
"It's just very, very exciting to have the community come, come here and celebrate with us," Lori shared.
"Thoughts going into the new season? Let's do it again, yeah," Joyce added.
There's one big rule with handling the Stanley Cup: if you haven't won it, you can't lift it.
