Tortorella named Colby’s interim hockey coach

Former University of Maine goalie Jim Tortorella has been named the interim head hockey coach at Colby College in Waterville, replacing Scott Borek.

Borek left after three years at Colby to become the associate head coach at Division I power Lake Superior State. Borek’s Mules went 33-34-5, 27-17-4 over the past two years.

Tortorella was a first-year assistant under Borek last year as Colby went 15-9-1 and qualified for the ECAC Division III East playoffs.

“Jim is a top-quality professional and a top-quality individual,” said Colby athletic director Dick Whitmore. “We feel very fortunate that he’s going to be leading our team. Scott had great foresight bringing Jim onto the staff.”

Whitmore said Colby sought Tortorella for the job. Tortorella, who played at Maine from 1977-81, said he considers the opportunity a great challenge.

“I’m very, very honored to be able to coach at one of the most prestigious college institutions in the country, both academically and what they offer through their athletic programs,” said the 35-year-old Tortorella, who had coached at Brunswick and Cony high schools and was an assistant at New Hampshire for one year.

He said he and Borek had similar philosophies, and Borek gave him a prominent role.

“Scott allowed me to do things with the team that some assistants might not be able to do,” said Tortorella. “That prepared me and will make the transition smoother. We’re going to continue to do a lot of the things we did last year.”

University of Maine assistant baseball head coach Mike Coutts guided Cotuit to the championship in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer.

“I had great kids. It couldn’t have been any better,” said Coutts, who was Cotuit’s first-year head coach. “Our kids got along real well. They fed off each other. They had the work ethic and approach and they knew how to compete.”

Vanderbilt University OF-DH Josh Paul, the league MVP, UCLA catcher Tim DeCinces and Tulane pitcher Jack Cressend were the catalysts.

Coutts, who is starting his 10th season at Maine, said the experience enabled him to reaffirm his coaching philosophies.

“It reinforced my approach to the game. If you do a lot of little things right, winning takes care of itself,” said the Auburn native and former Bear captain. “People put far too much emphasis on winning instead of the preparation that goes into making you a winner. When we came to the park, our thing was always play hard, be aggressive and have fun.”

Cotuit went 29-11-3 to win the Western Division and then took best-of-three postseason series from Wareham and Chatham.

Coutts felt the summer was important for him professionally.

“I needed to be a head coach,” said the 36-year-old Coutts. “Now [when I look into a head coaching], people can’t say, `He’s never been a head coach.’ Coaching in the most prestigious college league in the country has to help me somewhere along the line.”

Fellow Bear assistant Jay Kemble’s Harwich team finished 16-26-1.

“But Jay wasn’t able to recruit his own team,” said Coutts.

Kemble wasn’t named to coach Harwich until 2 1/2 weeks before the opener.

UMaine baseball coach John Winkin, who lost talented righthander Matt Kinney of Bangor to the Boston Red Sox in July, spent the summer recruiting pitchers.

Maine has landed one in righty Brian Glover from Wareham, Mass. Winkin described the 6-foot, 200-pounder as a control pitcher with poise.

“He has a decent breaking ball, a good fastball and a good changeup,” Winkin said. “He’s a bulldog, a fierce competitor.”

This summer Glover pitched his team to the Senior Babe Ruth state title and a berth in the regionals. Winkin said he has the potential to challenge for a starting spot this spring.