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ORONO – Tim Whitehead, the University of Maine’s interim men’s hockey coach, bears a definite resemblance to rocker Sting.
“I can sing the Stein Song better than he can,” quipped Whitehead, who actually played pro hockey in England near Sting’s hometown of Newcastle.
Whitehead isn’t doing much singing these days.
He’s too busy trying to direct the Black Bears to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Maine coach Shawn Walsh called Whitehead, coach at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell for the past five seasons, after assistant Gene Reilly left in August to take a coaching position with Grand Rapids in the American Hockey League.
Whitehead was able to get out of his contract as a scout for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and was named an assistant with the understanding he would assume the role of interim head coach when the ailing Walsh couldn’t coach.
When Walsh died of complications from kidney cancer on Sept. 24, Whitehead became the interim head coach for the season.
He says Walsh’s death wasn’t something he was prepared for, but the players have handled the situation extraordinarily well.
“They’ve been great. They’re going through a tough time. It’s difficult because every day they come to the rink, they are reminded of him. They miss him every day and that’s tough for them.
“But we’ve got a job to do and we’re prepared to do it. Shawn would want the program to move on.”
There are significant differences between Walsh and Whitehead. Walsh was fiery and boisterous. His voice could be heard throughout arenas everywhere and referees often caught the brunt of his salvos.
“I pick my spots with the referees,” said Whitehead. “I don’t consistently bark at them, but I will argue a call if I feel it’s necessary. I’ll definitely support my players when need be.”
He may be much calmer than Walsh, but Maine junior right winger Gray Shaneberger said there are similarities.
“Like coach Walsh, coach Whitehead is direct. He tells you what he wants and what he expects of you. He’s laid back, but he can have his moments like all coaches can. When he gets upset, it’s for good reason,” said Shaneberger.
Shaneberger said Whitehead has done “exceptionally well” and called him a “great guy.”
Sophomore left winger Todd Jackson concurred.
“He’s been great. He relates well with the players. It has been an adjustment period for all of us, but I think it’s going well. He definitely knows the game. He has coached here before and definitely knows what he’s doing,” said Jackson.
Whitehead is well respected.
“His teams are always prepared and they always come ready to play,” said Providence College coach Paul Pooley. “He’s a very, very knowledgeable hockey man. Faceoffs have always been very important to him and he likes to play an up-tempo style which gets his defensemen involved in the offense.”
In some ways, Whitehead could be auditioning for the permanent head coaching position this season.
“I don’t bother with any of that. I didn’t come here for that purpose,” said Whitehead, whose Bears are off to a 3-3-1 start. “Shawn called me and wanted me to look into being an assistant and the interim head coach when he was out for health reasons. That’s all I’m focused on right now.
“We want this to be a successful season. We know it’s going to be a challenge. Our goal is to return to the FleetCenter [for the Hockey East semifinals and finals] and the NCAA Tournament. They are challenging goals, but they’re reasonable. The key is to keep improving as the year goes on.”
The 40-year-old Whitehead is no stranger to the area, and his mother, Eleanor, a Portland native, has relatives scattered across the state.
He was a graduate assistant coach during the 1990-91 season at Maine while completing his master’s degree in education. He did his student teaching in history under Joe Floyd at Bangor’s John Bapst High School.
“It was a great experience,” said Whitehead, who had earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Hamilton College in 1985. He was also an assistant captain for the Hamilton hockey team before going on to play pro hockey in England and Belgium.
The Black Bears went 32-9-2 that season and made it to the NCAA Tournament’s semifinals in St. Paul, Minn.
Former Maine assistant Bruce Crowder hired Whitehead to be his second assistant coach for the following year and he spent five years with Crowder, eventually moving up to first assistant.
When Crowder left to take the head coaching job at Northeastern, Whitehead was hired to direct the River Hawks.
He compiled a 76-95-12 mark at UMass-Lowell, posting his best record last season at 19-16-3. He was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year award, as he was in 1997. He was also the runner-up for Hockey East coach of the year as he had been in 1997.
When he couldn’t reach a contract agreement with UMass-Lowell, the Canucks hired him.
Crowder said Whitehead is a perfect fit for Maine.
“First and foremost, he’s a great person. He has things in perspective pretty well. He’s a real people person,” said Crowder. “He’s the best guy for the job. He’ll help the kids out. He’ll help them get through things. He has an inner fire and is very similar to Grant [Maine assistant Grant Standbrook] in how he approaches things.”
Whitehead has a blueprint he follows.
“You’ve got to recruit players that you’ll enjoy coaching because you like how they play,” said Whitehead. “I like guys with good hockey sense. Guys who are tough, guys who are smart.”
When he first took over at Lowell, the River Hawks played their home games at cozy Tully Forum, “so I went after tough guys with hockey sense. Speed wasn’t as big a factor because it was such a tiny rink.”
When the River Hawks moved into more spacious Tsongas Arena, “[having] speed gave us such a huge advantage. So we recruited a lot more speed. You still need hockey sense and toughness, but you’ve got to have speed in the college game.”
He thoroughly enjoys recruiting.
“I take a lot of pride in recruiting. What I enjoy the most in coaching is getting to know the players and their families,” said Whitehead. “You’re involved in every aspect of the players’ lives. You work with them in their academic and social lives as well as their hockey lives.”
UMass-Lowell junior center Ed McGrane said “he not only cared about you, he also cared about your family and how they were doing. He wasn’t just a coach, he was someone you could talk to.”
He said Whitehead “worked us hard and taught me a lot. He knows when to be calm and when to let loose. He does a great job of that.”
River Hawk senior defenseman Chris Gustafson called Whitehead “very personable” and said that he is a strong believer in community involvement.
“He always had us doing stuff in the community,” said Gustafson.
Coaching is in Whitehead’s blood.
His late father, Harlan, coached several youth sports in addition to being a teacher and film editor in their native New Jersey.
Tim was the youngest of three children. His mother was a secretary.
“My father was the biggest influence on my life, for sure,” said Whitehead, whose father died in 1983. “My dad started the peewee hockey program in our township in Trenton. My older brother Charlie started playing hockey, my father took to it, and I took to it.”
Whitehead played several sports before choosing hockey. He still enjoys playing basketball.
He played hockey at Lawrenceville (N.J.) Prep School and went away to Northwood Prep in Lake Placid, N.Y., before going to Hamilton.
Northwood coach Bruce Delventhal, who went on to coach at Union College, Hamilton coach Phil Grady, Walsh, Standbrook, and Crowder have played significant roles in his development as a coach along with Middlebury’s Bill Beaney, whom he also assisted.
“I’ve been real fortunate to work with good coaches. I’ve tried to blend it all together to create my own style,” said Whitehead, who enjoys working with Standbrook, Matt Thomas, and newly appointed assistant Campbell Blair.
A devoted family man, Whitehead and his wife Dena have two children: 2-year-old Natalie and 4-month-old Zach.
Men’s Hockey
October
5 ? Maine 8, Moncton 0 (exhib.)
12 ? Maine 9, Bowling Green 1*
13 ? St. Cloud 6, Maine 2*
19 ?North Dakota 3, Maine 2
20 ?Maine 5, North Dakota 1
26 ?Western Michigan 4, Maine 3
27 ?Maine 2, Western Michigan 2 (tie)
November
3 ? Maine 6, UMass-Lowell 3
9 ? Boston University, 7 p.m.
11 ? Sacred Heart, 4 p.m.
16 ? Northeastern, 7 p.m.
18 ? Quinnipiac, 4 p.m.
21 ? Brown, 7 p.m.
30 ? at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
December
1 ? at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
7 ? Boston College, 7 p.m.
8 ? Boston College, 7 p.m.
29 ? vs. Ohio State, 7:30 p.m.**
30 ? vs. Cornell/Northern Michigan, 4:30 p.m./7:30 p.m.**
January
4 ? Providence, 7 p.m.
6 ? Dartmouth, at Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, 2 p.m.
11 ? at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
12 ? at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
18 ? Merrimack, 7 p.m.
19 ? Merrimack, 7 p.m.
25 ? at UMass-Lowell, 7 p.m.
26 ? at UMass-Lowell, 7 p.m.
February
1 ? New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
2 ? New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
8 ? at Boston College, 7 p.m.
9 ? at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
15 ? at Providence, 7 p.m.
16 ? at Providence, 7 p.m.
22 ? Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
23 ? Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
March
1 ? at Boston University, 7 p.m.
2 ? at Boston University, 7 p.m.
7-9 ? Hockey East quarterfinals
15 ? Hockey East semifinals (Boston)
16 ? Hockey East championship (Boston)
22-25 ? NCAA Regionals (Ann Arbor, Mich./Worcester, Mass.)
April
5-7 ? Frozen Four (St. Paul, Minn.)
*-IceBreaker Tournament, at Orono
**-Everblades College Classic, at Estero, Fla.
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