For more than six decades, including several years as a standout for the Clarkson University Men’s Hockey team and for the inaugural season of Clarkson Men’s Lacrosse, Mel Tomalty has been a fixture in North Country and New York State Athletics.
In three seasons with the Golden Knights, Tomalty amassed 115 points, scoring 57 goals and 58 assists in just 59 contests for an average of 1.94 points per game, the fifth-best figure in program history. In his first season with the Green and Gold, Tomalty ranked as the third leading point producer (11-19-30) and was the lone first-year varsity member to score in double digits, helping the team to a 17-3 record and an appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four, where the team finished third after a victory in the consolation game. In his next two seasons. Tomalty led the team in goals while ranking 2nd in assists in both campaigns, finishing as the team's top scorer in 1958-59 and placing second in 1959-60.
Tomalty was the anchor of what many Clarkson Hockey aficionados would consider one of the top trios in the program’s storied history. Along with Bill Little and Bob Van Lammers, the group would record 126 points in just 19 contests (6.63 points per game), accounting for 49.2% of the team's scoring in 1958-59. Despite every opponent knowing it would need to stop those three players, few rarely succeeded. Following his graduation at Clarkson, Tomalty played with a number of professional teams, including the Jersey Larks, Syracuse Stars, Morrisburg Flyers, and then Senior Hockey with the Potsdam Pioneers.
A native of Brownsburg, Quebec, Tomalty would settle in Potsdam and cemented his legacy in local athletics as a coach and official. He was the hockey coach at Potsdam High School in 1963, where he coached four seasons, and his 1963-64 hockey team was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He also coached for SUNY Canton in 1972, guiding the team to a 17-3 record.
However, it was an official where Tomalty will be likely be best remembered. Inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Associations Hall of Fame for his career as a referee, Tomalty was a high school and college official for soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse for nearly 50 years. After starting his officiating career in 1966, he served at various times as President, Assignor, or Interpreter of the sports for which he officiated. From 1974 to 2001, Tomalty was the head assignor for Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer, and he continued to serve as the assignor for the Boys’ and Girls’ Ice Hockey and Boys’ Lacrosse until 2013. Proving how well regarded he was in officiating circles, Tomalty was named a goal judge for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, and in 1984, he was an on-ice official for an NCAA Men’s Division I Final Four game.
Tomalty received numerous awards over his officiating career, including USA Lacrosse Man of the Year (representing Section X) in 1991, High School Hockey official of the Year in 1998, the Frenchy Julien National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Award in 2001, and the Northern New York Soccer officials Board Referee of the Year winner in 2003. Finally, he received the Chuck Dievendorf Lifetime Achievement Award for Section X Ice Hockey in 2013.
