Blais Named Finalist For Spencer Penrose Award
Mar 29, 2011 | General, Hockey
GLOUCESTER, Mass. - UNO head hockey coach #Dean Blais# has been named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the top Division I coach in the nation.
All eight nominees represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in their respective conferences and coaches of teams that have advanced to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey semifinals.
Blais won the Spencer Penrose award twice while coaching at North Dakota. This season, he also won the WCHA Coach of the Year nod for the fourth time in his sterling career. He led the Mavericks to a record of 21-16-2 and a mark of 17-9-2 in the WCHA. The Mavericks finished the regular season in third place after being picked to finish eighth or ninth in the preseason polls. The Mavericks have earned back-to-back 20-win seasons under Blais, just the second time in school history they have accomplished that feat.
Blais also led the Mavericks to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey tournament for just the second time in school history where they were eliminated in the first round in a 3-2 overtime loss to Michigan last week.
The other finalists are: Red Berenson - Michigan; Dave Hakstol - North Dakota; Jeff Jackson - Notre Dame; Nate Leaman - Union; Paul Pearl - Holy Cross; Scott Sandelin - Minnesota Duluth; and Jerry York - Boston College.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments.
The winner will be announced following the NCAA Frozen Four on April 7 and 9 in St. Paul, Minn. and will be presented at the American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year Banquet in Naples, Fla. on April 30.
All eight nominees represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in their respective conferences and coaches of teams that have advanced to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey semifinals.
Blais won the Spencer Penrose award twice while coaching at North Dakota. This season, he also won the WCHA Coach of the Year nod for the fourth time in his sterling career. He led the Mavericks to a record of 21-16-2 and a mark of 17-9-2 in the WCHA. The Mavericks finished the regular season in third place after being picked to finish eighth or ninth in the preseason polls. The Mavericks have earned back-to-back 20-win seasons under Blais, just the second time in school history they have accomplished that feat.
Blais also led the Mavericks to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey tournament for just the second time in school history where they were eliminated in the first round in a 3-2 overtime loss to Michigan last week.
The other finalists are: Red Berenson - Michigan; Dave Hakstol - North Dakota; Jeff Jackson - Notre Dame; Nate Leaman - Union; Paul Pearl - Holy Cross; Scott Sandelin - Minnesota Duluth; and Jerry York - Boston College.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments.
The winner will be announced following the NCAA Frozen Four on April 7 and 9 in St. Paul, Minn. and will be presented at the American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year Banquet in Naples, Fla. on April 30.
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