Kyle McDonough is an American ice hockey coach and former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who was an All-American for

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Career

McDonough was star for Vermont for four seasons in the later half of the 1980's. Despite low totals, he led the Catamounts in scoring as a freshman, helping the team post its first winning season in six years. He continued to lead the offense for most of his career and helped Vermont make its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1988. His production increased in his senior season and he was named an All-American. Vermont reached its first ECAC championship game but lost to

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

. After graduating, McDonough headed to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

to begin is professional career. He had nearly the same production in the

Metal Ligaen Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The league consists of 9 professional teams. The name of the league has changed many times, but is being sponsored by Dansk Metal and therefore got the name Metalligaen. History It is ...

as he had in college but couldn't help Aalborg finish better than 7th in the league. He moved to the

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...

the following year, recording nearly two points per game for Viking IK. After a year in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, McDonough was on the move again and spent the bulk of the next year in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He scored over 3 points per game for the Murrayfield Racers finishing second on the team and the led the club in scoring during the postseason. McDonough returned to Viking IK the following year and found himself with a new club each year until settling in with

Frisk Asker Ishockey Frisk Asker Ishockey, commonly known as Frisk Asker, is a Norwegian ice hockey club based in Asker, Norway. The team is currently a member of the highest Norwegian ice hockey league, Fjordkraft-Ligaen. They are based in the municipality of Asker ...

in 1996. McDonough found his greatest success with Frisk Asker, leading the entire league in scoring four different times. He was productive all the way until the end of his career, serving as an alternate captain every year for the club and leading them to the league championship in 2002. McDonough is currently the 7th all-time leading scorer for Norway's top league and the only non-Norwegian in the top 10. With his playing career finished, McDonough returned to

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and began working as a teacher. He eventually found himself behind the bench of ice hockey team at his alma mater,

Manchester Memorial High School Manchester Memorial High School is a four-year comprehensive school in Manchester, New Hampshire, with an enrollment of approximately 1,600. It is a part of the Manchester School District. The school's Latin motto is " scientia est potentia." Ma ...

. He was inducted into the Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey in 2003.

Happy Gilmore

McDonough was the inspiration for the title character in

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a newfound talent for golf. The scree ...

. While golfing with his friend Adam Sandler, McDonough would drive the ball much farther than the rest of the group with the consensus being that playing ice hockey helped him this respect. The anecdote was used as the premise for the movie. McDonough later acted in a scene for Grown Ups 2 but it left out of the final edit.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonough, Kyle 1966 births Living people Ice hockey people from New Hampshire Sportspeople from Manchester, New Hampshire American men's ice hockey centers Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Aalborg Pirates players Raleigh IceCaps players Murrayfield Racers players Stjernen Hockey players Huddinge IK players Frisk Asker Ishockey players American expatriate ice hockey players in Scotland American expatriate ice hockey players in Norway American expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden American expatriate ice hockey players in Denmark