Michael Golden is an American retired ice hockey
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
who was an
All-American for the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...
.
Career
Golden was a star player for
Reading Memorial High School
Reading Memorial High School (RMHS), overseen by the Reading Public School district, is a four-year high school serving the town of Reading, Massachusetts, United States, as its only public grade 9-12 school. The school had a student body of 1,2 ...
in
, leading his team to a Middlesex League championship while scoring nearly three points per game. The
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
ended up selecting him in the second round of the
1983 NHL Entry Draft
The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was the 21st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL Entry Draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did ...
and he began attending the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
in the fall. Golden's tenure in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
lasted just seven games and he left mid-season to play for both a junior-B team and at the
World Junior Championships.
Golden ended up transferring to
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and was forced to sit out the entire
1984–85 season due to NCAA requirements. He debuted for the Black Bears the following year and slowly worked his way to the top of the roster. Golden helped the team reach their first
NCAA Tournament in 1987 and was named
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
for his senior season. 1988 was a new high for the program as they finished first in the
Hockey East
The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference.
Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...
standings with Golden finishing second on the team and sixth in the nation in scoring. Maine received the top eastern seed in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
and won their quarterfinal match to make the program's first Frozen Four.
While he was in college, Golden had been traded by the Oilers to the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
in a package that included
Reijo Ruotsalainen
Reijo Ruotsalainen (born April 1, 1960) is a Finnish former ice hockey defenceman. He was twice named Finland's top defenceman, and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, in 1987 and 1990.
Playing career
Ruotsalainen started his career ...
. He began his professional career in the Rangers' farm system and played well for two years. His scoring diminished in 1991 as he moved between three teams and he retired as a player following the year.
Golden returned home and hung around his old high school team, eventually joining as a volunteer assistant. He left for a few years after the turn of the century but returned as the head coach for the women's team in 2009. He built the team into a power in short order, leading the team to its first state championship in 2015 with a record of 22–2–0. Work commitments unfortunately forced him to resign from his position following the year but Golden had already left an indelible mark on the school.
Statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Mike
1965 births
Living people
Ice hockey people from Boston
American men's ice hockey forwards
New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players
Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey players
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
Denver Rangers players
Flint Spirits players
Albany Choppers players
Milwaukee Admirals players
Binghamton Rangers players
Edmonton Oilers draft picks
People from Reading, Massachusetts