D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

[Derek Dunning]

http://www.ahcahockey.com/news/0910/0315d3cy.html

Any bets on winners?

My thought is that it will probably go to whichever teams wins the FF this weekend.

Gosek and McShane with their tremendous rookie classes have to be considered front runners. And is this possibly one of the Bob Emery's greatest coaching jobs ever getting the Cards back to the Final Four after all that he lost from last year's squad?

 

[norm1909]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

http://www.ahcahockey.com/news/0910/0315d3cy.html

Any bets on winners?

My thought is that it will probably go to whichever teams wins the FF this weekend.

Gosek and McShane with their tremendous rookie classes have to be considered front runners. And is this possibly one of the Bob Emery's greatest coaching jobs ever getting the Cards back to the Final Four after all that he lost from last year's squad?

FIRE them

 

[NUProf]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

FIRE them

And Beaney, too. He didn't even make the list

 

[CARDS_rule_the_Burgh]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

http://www.ahcahockey.com/news/0910/0315d3cy.html

Any bets on winners?

My thought is that it will probably go to whichever teams wins the FF this weekend.

Gosek and McShane with their tremendous rookie classes have to be considered front runners. And is this possibly one of the Bob Emery's greatest coaching jobs ever getting the Cards back to the Final Four after all that he lost from last year's squad?

5 years in a row? Probably.


I find it interesting that, despite the fact that Emery is up there with Beaney and McShane for wins, and is always included in the discussion of coaches who frequently find ways to steal games and seasons, no matter the adversity, he has NEVER won this. In fact, only Herb Hammond has. I have to think that he would have gotten it last year if the Cards had mad the Championship game, even if they lost. He coached one hell of a team last year.

As for your your question about Emery, I think it's even more impressive than that. A month ago, we were talking about how Plattsburgh needed to win the SUNYAC AQ, or they would be done. But Emery kept the team afloat, and the team persevered to get the Pool C.

So, do we get 5 consecutive years of the Champion's Coach getting the award? You bet!

 

[NUProf]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

5 years in a row? Probably.


I find it interesting that, despite the fact that Emery is up there with Beaney and McShane for wins, and is always included in the discussion of coaches who frequently find ways to steal games and seasons, no matter the adversity, he has NEVER won this. In fact, only Herb Hammond has. I have to think that he would have gotten it last year if the Cards had mad the Championship game, even if they lost. He coached one hell of a team last year.

As for your your question about Emery, I think it's even more impressive than that. A month ago, we were talking about how Plattsburgh needed to win the SUNYAC AQ, or they would be done. But Emery kept the team afloat, and the team persevered to get the Pool C.

So, do we get 5 consecutive years of the Champion's Coach getting the award? You bet!

Yeah, but Emery won't shake hands

 

[Josh Carey]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

What, no Chris Schultz? His team was 5-0-1 after being eliminated from the playoffs! That makes him a career 7-0-1 coach when his team has no chance at a postseason bid!

 

[Dyce]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

5 years in a row? Probably.


I find it interesting that, despite the fact that Emery is up there with Beaney and McShane for wins, and is always included in the discussion of coaches who frequently find ways to steal games and seasons, no matter the adversity, he has NEVER won this. In fact, only Herb Hammond has. I have to think that he would have gotten it last year if the Cards had mad the Championship game, even if they lost. He coached one hell of a team last year.

As for your your question about Emery, I think it's even more impressive than that. A month ago, we were talking about how Plattsburgh needed to win the SUNYAC AQ, or they would be done. But Emery kept the team afloat, and the team persevered to get the Pool C.

So, do we get 5 consecutive years of the Champion's Coach getting the award? You bet!

Emery was essentially robbed of his shot at the award by his conference at least once in his early years with the program, and possibly twice (depending on your perspective). Unless I'm mistaken, the nominee pool used to be limited to conference coaches of the year; Final Four coaches were not considered. From what I understand, there was a LOT of antipathy toward the Plattsburgh State program throughout the mid-'80s and early '90s, and particularly between Steve Hoar and Paul Duffy. Duffy was the dean of SUNYAC coaches, and a very influential figure in his conference, the NCAA, and the AHCA throughout his tenure; Hoar was a cocky, win-at-all-costs "player's coach." The result was Hoar winning a single grudging (Co-)Coach of the Year from the SUNYAC during his time at Plattsburgh, and the collective resentment of the conference preventing Emery from winning his first SUNYAC Coach of the Year until 1996 - 7 seasons, 3 conference titles, and a national championship into his career.

Which brings me to the "getting robbed" part. I still argue Emery's first season was his best as a coach: a green assistant handed the team completely without warning two days before the season opener, he took a program in an absolute mess off the ice to within a goal of the national championship on it. However, I can see some mitigating circumstances; Emery didn't drop the "acting" tag until after the season; hell, the only reason Emery coached the team beyond their first weekend was a lack of notice that prevented the college from conducting a reasonable job search on the fly.

1992, on the other hand, was just inexcusable. Ed Seney won SUNYAC Coach of the Year for bringing a Potsdam team coming off some bad seasons slightly above .500; Bob Emery did not win SUNYAC coach of the year for bringing a Plattsburgh State team coming off a postseason ban to a singularly dominant season that would eventually (after the conference vote, obviously, but the writing was on the wall) culminate in a 7-3 national championship win over a three-time defending champ. His exclusion was absolutely nothing more than political.

Sorry to get a all long-winded on the subject. It's just one that tends to bug me a bit

 

[norm1909]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

... From what I understand, there was a LOT of antipathy toward the Plattsburgh State program throughout the mid-'80s and early '90s, and particularly between Steve Hoar and Paul Duffy. Duffy was the dean of SUNYAC coaches, and a very influential figure in his conference, the NCAA, and the AHCA throughout his tenure; Hoar was a cocky, win-at-all-costs "player's coach." The result was Hoar winning a single grudging (Co-)Coach of the Year from the SUNYAC during his time at Plattsburgh...

So it is probably a good thing for Steve Hoar that George Starr got the director of ECAC East/Northeast while Paul Duffy got the ECAC West, or Steve Hoar might not have made their (ECAC Northeast) 2007-08 Coach of the Year (Becker College).

 

[Dyce]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

So it is probably a good thing for Steve Hoar that George Starr got the director of ECAC East/Northeast while Paul Duffy got the ECAC West, or Steve Hoar might not have made their (ECAC Northeast) 2007-08 Coach of the Year (Becker College).

I very much doubt there would be any animosity at this point. Duffy never struck me as a guy to hold a grudge out of jealousy or just for the sake of holding it; he was just very concerned with decorum and very invested in maintaining the image of the SUNYAC he helped build. Reading through old P-R articles, he always seemed very helpful in offering clarification on NCAA decisions while he was an Eastern committee member (excluding certain players from the 1990 tournament based on the fracas following the 1988 loss to Babson, for one). And I think he eventually became comfortable with the Cardinals as running a classy program - Emery presented him with a putter prior to his final game at Stafford, and he seemed genuinely touched. I just think he remained wary of Plattsburgh longer than he should have, and unfortunately his influence and opinion combined such that Emery didn't get a fair shake early in his career.

And for the record, I was also happy when Hoar broke back into DIII with Becker. He'd already managed to generate at least a little momentum without much to work with at a pre-NE autobid, pre-NESCAC Tufts program, and it was a smart move by his old goalie to pick him up

 

[bango3]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

I know you boys are all Easterners, but not a breath devoted to SNC coach Tim Coghlin? This team was expected to finish 2nd in conference, and that was on reputation alone. They lost 7 players to conduct issues after the 2009 season, and did not know in June if they had enough guys to put a team on the ice. This is the best coaching job I have seen Coghlin do, and that is saying something. This team in the Frozen Four was a Michael Phelps' sized pipe dream a few short months ago. My vote is with Coghlin, and I am not biased at all

 

[Matthew Webb]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

I know you boys are all Easterners, but not a breath devoted to SNC coach Tim Coghlin? This team was expected to finish 2nd in conference, and that was on reputation alone. They lost 7 players to conduct issues after the 2009 season, and did not know in June if they had enough guys to put a team on the ice. This is the best coaching job I have seen Coghlin do, and that is saying something. This team in the Frozen Four was a Michael Phelps' sized pipe dream a few short months ago. My vote is with Coghlin, and I am not biased at all

About time someone said it.

 

[Old Rook NU'66]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

I know you boys are all Easterners, but not a breath devoted to SNC coach Tim Coghlin? This team was expected to finish 2nd in conference, and that was on reputation alone. They lost 7 players to conduct issues after the 2009 season, and did not know in June if they had enough guys to put a team on the ice. This is the best coaching job I have seen Coghlin do, and that is saying something. This team in the Frozen Four was a Michael Phelps' sized pipe dream a few short months ago. My vote is with Coghlin, and I am not biased at all

This is an excellent example of why USCHOL is so important. Has nothing to do with Eastern bias--but a lack of information. Thanks for making a strong and valid case for Tim Coghlin for Coach of the Year. I am sure the selection committee will take this all into account and be thankful it is not an NCAA selection committee but an coaches association award.

 

[MW4Bucky&SNC]

Re: D-III Men's Coach of the Year Finalists Announced

Tim did a wonderful job this year, especially with the unexpected personnel losses. He may have done more in-game adjustments than I've ever seen him do in tweaking the lines and working to get certain guys more ice time in certain situations. I seemed to notice more double-shifting, adjustments for their current use of an 11-7 lineup, and working harder to get their best PK guys on the ice.

With about 4 or 5 games left in the regular season I would have nominated Mark Wick of St. Scholastica. They lost a ton to graduation and he did a really good job with these guys. I felt like they outperformed their natural talent thru sound fundamental and smart team play, which I attribute to coaching. Unfortunately their poor play down the stretch ended his candidacy despite a final record which I would say exceeded my expectations.