William Shawn Walsh (June 21, 1955 – September 26, 2001) was the head ice hockey coach 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 ...

Black Bears.

Career

Walsh was a third-string goalie for

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

. As a sophomore, he decided to concentrate on coaching as a volunteer assistant for the BGSU hockey team. He was graduated from Bowling Green with a bachelor's degree in education. He later earned a master's degree in the same field of study. After completing his undergraduate studies, Walsh was hired as a full-time assistant coach at BGSU by

Ron Mason Ronald Herbert Mason (January 14, 1940 – June 13, 2016) was a Canadian ice hockey player, head coach, and university executive. A head coach of various American universities, most notably Michigan State University (MSU), he was the most success ...

. Walsh followed Mason to Michigan State in 1979 where they inherited a program that had only won 36 games in its previous three seasons. After only five years, Mason and Walsh had guided MSU to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, back-to-back 30-win seasons and the 1984

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

—the school's first Frozen Four appearance in 17 years. In 1984 Walsh took over a Maine program that had gone 27–65 in the three seasons prior. He built the program into a national power. In his third year, he led Maine to its first-ever NCAA Tournament, followed by consecutive Frozen Fours in 1988 and 1989. In 1992–93, he led Maine to an astonishing 42–1–2 record and their first NCAA title. Maine was also national finalists in 1995. He coached

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

winners

Scott Pellerin Scott Jaque-Frederick Pellerin (born January 9, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League between 1992 and 2004. Pellerin is currently a NHL scout with the Arizona Coyotes as of 9/28/21. ...

(1992) and

Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a skilled and fast-skating offensive player, he played in the NHL for the Might ...

(1993). Walsh was suspended from coaching for one year starting mid-season in 1995–96 after a series of NCAA investigations. He returned during the 1996–97 season and quickly built Maine back into a national contender, winning another national championship in 1999. Walsh was diagnosed with a common form of kidney cancer known as

renal cell carcinoma Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, a part of the very small tubes in the kidney that transport primary urine. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, resp ...

in June 2000. At the time of his death, he was only 46 years old. Walsh had a career record of 399–215–44.

Head coaching record

† Maine was forced to retroactively forfeit 13 games after the season for using an ineligible player
‡ Maine was forced to retroactively forfeit 14 games during the season for using an ineligible player
^ On December 22 Maine Suspended Walsh for one year for repeated NCAA rules violations
* Maine voluntarily ruled itself ineligible for any postseason play in 1997

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Shawn 1955 births 2001 deaths People from White Plains, New York Ice hockey coaches from New York (state) Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey players American ice hockey coaches Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey coaches Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey coaches Michigan State Spartans ice hockey coaches Deaths from cancer in Maine

Career

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links