Hockey coach of year
UD's Schurman named ACHA national coach of the year
12:05 p.m., April 3, 2012--M.F. Schurman, head coach of the national champion University of Delaware men's ice hockey club team, has been named the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I coach of the year.
The 2011-12 ACHA coach of the year award is presented by Harrow Sports. Schurman is the second UD head coach to have been named the national coach of the year, with Josh Brandwene receiving the honor in 2000-01.
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In two seasons with the Blue Hens, Schurman is 65-9-3.
The other finalists for the ACHA coach of the year award were: Jeremy Bachusz of Oakland University, Greg Powers of Arizona State University and Rick Zombo of Lindenwood University.
Schurman, who earlier was named Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League coach of the year, will be presented the award at an ACHA event to be held April 28 in Naples, Fla.
The recently completed season was one for the ages, as the Blue Hens won the ACHA Division I national championship for the first time in team history and finished win a record of 34-3-1 overall.
Other highlights winning the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) regular season title, putting together 12- and 9-game winning streaks, posting a record of 9-1-1 against top 10 teams and 28-3-1 against top 25 teams.
“This year at our first team meeting in the fall, all we talked about was winning the last game of the year,” Schurman said, referring to the national championship game. The coach credits his players and assistant coaches for the team's success in achieving that goal.
“We had a motivated group of upperclassmen that showed great leadership, especially our captains," Schurman said. "We also had depth, which created peer pressure and competition for playing time."
Schurman said assistant coaches Jesse McNulty, Jordan Legath, John O’Connor and Nick Matarese were "instrumental in implementing the system," adding, "We were particularly proud of the defensive side of our game, which produced a team goals-against-average of 2.17. I really enjoy coaching this level and find a tremendous amount of youthful energy being on a college campus.”
Schurman and his assistant are volunteers with the club team.
Schurman became UD head coach in May 2010 after having coached junior hockey for the previous 10 years. A native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, in Canada, he played junior hockey in his hometown, went to Mount Allison University in New Brunswick for two years, then embarked on an eight-year professional career that included a stint with the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League. With the Whalers in 1979-80, he played on a line with his boyhood idol, NHL Hall of Famer Gordie Howe.
Schurman began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Prince Edward Island, was instrumental in the development of youth hockey in San Diego and coaches the Philadelphia Little Flyers Junior A team in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League.
Schurman lives in Newark and is married to Suzy Semanick-Schurman, a former U.S. Olympic ice dancer.