Gene Reilly, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant with the University of Maine men’s hockey team, has left the Black Bears to take a job in the professional ranks.

The 39-year-old Reilly was introduced Thursday as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Griffins of the American Hockey League.

Reilly has been a key cog on the Bears’ coaching staff. He served as the interim head coach last summer while Shawn Walsh was in California undergoing immunotherapy treatments to battle kidney cancer.

Reilly guided UMaine to a 1-1-1 record to start the 2000-01 season before Walsh returned to the bench. This summer, he again directed UMaine’s hockey clinics while Walsh underwent a stem cell transplant in Bethesda, Md.

With Grand Rapids, Reilly will work under head coach Bruce Cassidy and replaces Danton Cole, who recently became the head coach of the AHL’s Muskegon Fury.

“Gene brings a wealth of coaching experience to our staff,” said Griffins general manager Bob McNamara. “He was part of one of the strongest college programs in the country and has demonstrated a tremendous ability to work with younger players, something that makes him a perfect fit for our [Ottawa Senators] organization.”

Reilly joined the UMaine staff in 1998 and helped the Bears post a 31-6-4 record and win the 1999 NCAA national championship. The Springfield, Mass., native coached five seasons in the Eastern Junior Hockey League, directing the New England Junior Coyotes to the 1998 title on his way to coach of the year honors.

Hayes preseason All-America

The preseason honors continue to roll in for UMaine tight end Chad Hayes.

The senior from Old Town has been recognized by Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette as a second-team Preseason All-American.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Black Bears also had two All-America honorable mentions in junior quarterback Jake Eaton and senior tailback Royston English.

Hayes, a captain this season, already had been named an All-Atlantic 10 preseason first-team pick and was rated as one of the top five Division I-AA tight ends in the country by The Sports Network.

Despite being hampered by a nagging hamstring injury last season, the former Old Town High School star caught 15 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown in nine games on his way to All-Atlantic 10 first-team recognition.

As a sophomore, he set a UMaine record for tight ends with 350 receiving yards and tied for top honors with 27 receptions.

Hayes, a 6-foot-6, 252-pounder, enters the 2001 season as the Bears’ top returning receiver in receptions and yards. He may be counted upon for more production this season as UMaine breaks in a younger group of receivers.

Hayes, who also has excelled as a blocker, has the benefit of playing with Eaton. The Bears’ QB set a UMaine single-season record last season with a .659 completion percentage (184-for-279) that led the conference and ranked third in the country.

Eaton passed for 2,265 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2000.

UMaine 4th in AE volleyball poll

The UMaine volleyball team, which posted a 12-18 record last season, has been picked to finish fourth in the 2001 America East volleyball preseason coaches poll released Thursday.

New Hampshire and Northeastern finished tied for first place in the poll with three first-place votes and 44 points each. Towson was a close third with two first-place votes and 41 points.

Maine had 30 points, followed by Stony Brook (21), Drexel (20), Hartford (16), and Albany (7).

Coach Sue Medley’s program has made steady progress since being reinstated as a varsity sport in 1999. The Bears went 0-21 that season, playing without the benefit of scholarships.

Last season, with scholarship players on the squad, UMaine was competitive.

The Bears return sophomore setter Cheryl Elliott, who averaged 10.6 assists per game (fourth in the league) and ranked second in serving, notching 50 aces. She is joined by a talented group of newcomers.

Bates volleyball team honored

The volleyball team at Bates College in Lewiston has been named a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association/Molten USA Team Academic Award for 2000-01.

The recognition is given to college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom, maintaining a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade point average.

Coach Jen Bowman’s squad was one of 24 NCAA Division III teams honored by the AVCA. The Bobcats posted a 3.45 GPA, eighth-best in Division III. Seniors Kate Hagstrom and Kristina Godek were Verizon Academic All-District picks last season.