March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Huskies court Cronin, Keeling> Two Northeastern jobs are open

Northeastern University Athletic Director Barry Gallup has contacted Maine interim head hockey coach Greg Cronin and basketball coach Rudy Keeling about the head coaching vacancies at the Boston-based school.

Northeastern hockey coach Ben Smith resigned to become the head coach of the United States women’s national hockey team and Huskies baskeDave Leitao left to return to the University of Connecticut as an associate head coach.

Maine Athletic Director Sue Tyler said Gallup contacted her for permission to talk to the two coaches.

“I don’t want to lose either one. They are both great coaches and great people. But I won’t forbid a coach from talking to somebody. That wouldn’t be right,” said Tyler.

Cronin is from nearby Arlington, Mass., and his father, Don, captained the 1958-59 Northeastern University hockey team. His uncle, Gerard, also played at NU and another uncle, Jack, is a business professor there.

Cronin was one of three finalists for the University of Alaska-Anchorage job that went to Dean Talafous.

“This job is a lot more attractive than the Anchorage job. I’ll know a lot more within the next five or six days,” said Cronin, who led the Bears to a 12-6-1 record after taking over for the suspended Shawn Walsh. Walsh will return Dec. 24 and Cronin then would return to being an assistant.

A story in the Boston Herald speculated that other candidates included UMass-Lowell head coach Bruce Crowder, Merrimack’s Ron Anderson and Bowdoin’s Terry Meagher.

The Boston Globe reported in Wednesday’s paper that former University of Southern California head basketball coach Charlie Parker is the front-runner but Keeling is the other prime candidate.

Keeling, who is 106-122 in his eight seasons at Maine, said, “It’s flattering that somebody would contact me. I think the Northeastern job is intriuging because they have so much history there. And it’s important to look into an opportunity to see if, down the road, it could be a better job than the one you have. But I’ve got a great team here and Sue gave me a [four-year] contract extension. I’m not looking for a job.”

The Hockey East Tournament semifinals and championship game may be moved.

Tyler said the league’s ADs will discuss the issue later this month and could open it up to bid.

The tournament had been held at Boston Garden for five straight years before it moved to the new FleetCenter last March where it drew 17,207 for two nights.

“We didn’t lose money but we didn’t make anywhere near what we expected,” said Tyler. “It was a high cost-low return kind of item. We didn’t feel they [FleetCenter staff] promoted it well.”

Tyler said possible future sites include the Providence Civic Center, Worcester Centrum and Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center.

Old Town High School’s Corey Thibodeau and New York City native Dade Faison, a pair of guards, have signed their letters of intent to play basketball at Maine, contingent upon their admission to the university.

They will join center-forwards Mamadou N’diaye and Ndongo N’diaye in the recruiting class.

Maine has one scholarship left and recruiting coordinator Mike LaPlante said they will take a hard look at transfer students and freshmen who may qualify late through the NCAA clearinghouse.

“We’re going to be very patient. We aren’t going to pinpoint a specific need. We want the best player available,” LaPlante said.


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