2008 Woodie Awards
Former NMU hockey coach wins NCAA title
Sports column
Kyle Whitney
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Sports
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"Will beats skill. It always does."
That's what ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose said on Saturday night as the Michigan State Spartan hockey team was crowned NCAA champions after a 3-1 defeat of the Boston College Eagles.
Coaching the Spartans to victory was former NMU hockey coach Rick Comley, who started the Wildcat men's hockey program and was the only leader the team knew for 23 years.
Saturday was a night five years in the making for Comley, but one that was familiar to the man that led the NMU icers to a title in 1991.
Saturday's victory served as overdue justification for Comley, who has been under fire as of late. Followers of the green-and-white knew that they had a good team when Comley took over in 2002 and although the team had finished the previous season with a 27-9-5 record, the fans expected more. They expected a national championship.
When that championship wasn't immediately claimed, Comley dealt with the repercussions, facing constant job-security rumors over the past few years.
Although he led the team to five straight winning seasons and last year's Mason Cup, a trophy which he admits likely saved his job, nothing could have served Comley better than the 2007 national title.
The difference between his first four seasons at Michigan State and the current one is that Comley was finally coaching his own team this year, one that was fully assembled by his recruiting efforts.
There was no longer any riff-raff hanging around from the preceding Ron Mason era. And while one year may not have made a huge difference on paper, it is obvious that Michigan State began the year united behind a single coach's ideology.
Comley has always recruited hard-working guys and, unlike many coaches, has never been easily impressed by a high NHL draft-pick. His teams are typically not made up of superstars. Instead, they consist of blue-collar players that are diligent and willing to accept specific roles in the context of a team concept.
That's what ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose said on Saturday night as the Michigan State Spartan hockey team was crowned NCAA champions after a 3-1 defeat of the Boston College Eagles.
Coaching the Spartans to victory was former NMU hockey coach Rick Comley, who started the Wildcat men's hockey program and was the only leader the team knew for 23 years.
Saturday was a night five years in the making for Comley, but one that was familiar to the man that led the NMU icers to a title in 1991.
Saturday's victory served as overdue justification for Comley, who has been under fire as of late. Followers of the green-and-white knew that they had a good team when Comley took over in 2002 and although the team had finished the previous season with a 27-9-5 record, the fans expected more. They expected a national championship.
When that championship wasn't immediately claimed, Comley dealt with the repercussions, facing constant job-security rumors over the past few years.
Although he led the team to five straight winning seasons and last year's Mason Cup, a trophy which he admits likely saved his job, nothing could have served Comley better than the 2007 national title.
The difference between his first four seasons at Michigan State and the current one is that Comley was finally coaching his own team this year, one that was fully assembled by his recruiting efforts.
There was no longer any riff-raff hanging around from the preceding Ron Mason era. And while one year may not have made a huge difference on paper, it is obvious that Michigan State began the year united behind a single coach's ideology.
Comley has always recruited hard-working guys and, unlike many coaches, has never been easily impressed by a high NHL draft-pick. His teams are typically not made up of superstars. Instead, they consist of blue-collar players that are diligent and willing to accept specific roles in the context of a team concept.
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