Fourth-year assistant captain Tim Crane is a crucial part of the men’s hockey program, but some of his biggest contributions have come off the ice.

Crane took over running the team’s social media in his freshman year and has since become the marketing and communications manager. His role has grown past posting on Instagram to planning theme nights and finding other ways to build the program’s presence.

“I always kind of knew that our social media department wasn’t really doing that great,” Crane said. “It was more just [an] abdicated responsibility that I just started taking over.”

Adding promoting and planning to the schedule of a student-athlete, Crane has put a lot on his plate.

“It’s a lot, but it’s kind of everything I was asking for with it,” Crane said. “Am I stressed out a lot on certain days? Sure, but at the same time, it’s also worth it because I know that if I wasn’t doing the marketing stuff and all the media stuff for our team, nobody really would.”

After entering the university undecided, Crane found a home in the sports media major. He learned on the job, teaching himself by looking at how other programs across all levels of hockey promoted their teams.

“We have to be self-promoting,” Rhode Island Head Coach Joe Augustine said. “He took the lead on that, and from what I understand, he does a really good job.”

Saturday saw the Rams host their “Pucks & Pups” night in association with Animal Rescue Rhode Island, which was organized by Crane. The theme night benefited the organization’s local animal rescue work while offering the opportunity to meet shelter dogs.

It was the third of eight theme nights scheduled by Crane for the season. The team’s final promotion of 2025 is set for Friday at 7 p.m., bringing Greek Night back for a second year.

“Greek Night last year was the first one that was really successful,” Crane said. “We had planned that out for a while with [Greek Affairs Assistant Director] Alison Burke.”

As an assistant captain this season, Crane has racked up a career-high eight assists on the team’s top defensive pairing.

“He’s sacrificing and does what he has to do to become a good player,” Augustine said. “He’s a leader in a way where he doesn’t say a whole lot, but he leads by example.”

With Crane busy playing, he created internship opportunities for videographers and photographers to capture the action. Crane said that social media could be the next internship offered by the team.

“It’s tough, and it’s not an easy selling point for somebody on the team to take over,” Crane said. “Somebody not on the ice could probably do a better job, honestly.”

In Crane’s final season with Rhode Island, the future of the team’s media presence faces some uncertainty.

“I hope that somebody can take over and do a better job than I did,” Crane said. “I don’t know how many guys are going to want to add that extra level of stress and take that initiative on top of playing and their own schoolwork.”