Whitehead has kept UM in high gear Style differs from Walsh, but results similar

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Tim Whitehead, the third-year University of Maine men’s hockey coach, has three CDs in his vehicle: Bruce Springsteen, the Three Tenors, and the Robert Cray Band.

It may seem like a diverse group, but it’s appropriate for a strong family man who has gained the respect of his players and peers while perpetuating a strong UMaine hockey winning tradition.

Life has been diverse for the 42-year-old Whitehead. He has worked dozens of jobs, played several sports, and lived in a lot of places including England and Belgium.

One of his stops happened to be in Orono during the 1990-91 season. He was a graduate assistant under Shawn Walsh while working toward his master’s degree in education.

He had played hockey for Division II Hamilton College (N.Y.), played and coached in England and Belgium, and been an assistant at Middlebury College (Vt.) for two years.

Maine went to the Frozen Four during that 1990-91 season and Whitehead’s first taste of Division I hockey left a lasting impression.

Grant Standbrook and Red Gendron were the other coaches on the staff under Walsh.

“That was a great year. It really hooked me on wanting to become a coach. That made the difference for me. I realized that was my passion. And I thought I was pretty good at it,” said Whitehead.

That passion has helped Maine’s drive to another Frozen Four as the Bears will play in a national semifinal Thursday at 6 p.m. against Boston College in the FleetCenter in Boston.

10 years at UMass-Lowell

Whitehead had gotten to know former Maine assistant Bruce Crowder, who had become the head coach at UMass-Lowell. Crowder hired him as an assistant the following year.

He spent five years with Crowder and became the head coach at UML when Crowder left for Northeastern University.

“Bruce is a great guy to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed our five years together. We’re still close friends. He’s a real good guy. He has a good perspective on things,” said Whitehead, who went 76-93-11 in his five seasons as the head coach at UMass-Lowell and led the River Hawks to the Hockey East semifinals three times.

“That was a great experience. You’ve got to learn how to coach and how to recruit at Lowell. If you don’t, you’re really going to struggle,” said Whitehead. “You’re fighting against the odds every single year just to compete. You have to recruit very diligently and find some hidden gems.”

UML’s seven Hockey East semifinal appearances in his 10-year affiliation with the school was second only to Maine in that span.

He was offered a two-year contract to return to UMass-Lowell but turned it down.

“I had been there 10 years. I needed a change. I wasn’t enjoying coaching any more,” said Whitehead, who accepted a job as a scout for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.

The return to UMaine

Walsh, who was battling a form of kidney cancer, called and asked him to join the staff since Gene Reilly had left to take a job with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.

“I originally turned it down. But my wife [Dena] and I talked about it some more. Here’s a guy [Walsh] who’s suffering with cancer and he called me to ask if I wanted to help the team. I wanted to do that. I wanted an opportunity to coach and help a team. I was coaching for the right reasons,” said Whitehead, who had also received a call from Standbrook.

Walsh died on Sept. 24, 2001, and Whitehead became the interim head coach.

He led the Bears to the NCAA championship game where they took a 3-2 lead into the final minute of play but wound up losing 4-3 in overtime to Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

“It was a fascinating experience that year. I learned more about coaching and people than in any year. The challenge was immense. There were so many distractions. But the team got closer as the season went along and by the end, we felt almost invincible,” said Whitehead, who won the Spencer Penrose Trophy given to the national coach of the year.

There was a late-season swoon last year, but the Bears earned another NCAA Tournament berth, losing at Michigan 2-1 in the first round.

This year’s team was picked to finish fourth in Hockey East, but has put together a surprising 32-7-3 season that has landed it a fourth Frozen Four appearance in six years.

Since succeeding Walsh, Whitehead has compiled an 82-28-15 record and his Bears won their first Hockey East tournament title since 2000 with a 2-1 triple-overtime win over UMass at the FleetCenter.

He is a Spencer Penrose finalist again and he considers it a team award, not an individual award.

UMass coach Don Cahoon said Whitehead’s record speaks for itself. “His kids come to play and I have a lot of respect for his ability to sustain their tremendous level of play,” he said.

“He has continued to bring in good players and has fostered a good team atmosphere,” said Boston College coach Jerry York. “His X’s and O’s are solid.”

Opposites succeed

Whitehead and Walsh were opposites. Walsh was a charismatic, hard-nosed, in-your-face type of coach while Whitehead is low-key, laid back, and soft-spoken.

But the results have been similar.

“When he went up there, he was very smart by saying he wasn’t Shawn Walsh. He is showing people there are two ways to get things done. He projects himself very well in regards to his style of teaching,” said Crowder. “His great attribute is his demeanor with the players. He is straightforward with them.”

“You’ve got to be yourself,” said Whitehead. “There was no way I was going to try to be Shawn Walsh Junior. I had to be Tim Whitehead or our team wouldn’t have succeeded.”

Senior goalie Frank Doyle said Whitehead has been a tremendous coach.

“He understands our lifestyle. He jokes around a lot, but when it’s time to get serious, he knows how to get serious. The guys really respect him for that,” Doyle said. “He makes practices and games a lot of fun.”

Whitehead said he tries to be positive and honest with his players.

“First and foremost, you have to care about your players and have a passion for teaching and helping them improve,” he said Whitehead.

“I enjoy the challenge of competition and I really enjoy teaching and helping them improve,” he added.

Senior left wing and captain Todd Jackson said Whitehead has been incredible. “Every time we buy into his game plans, we come out on top.”

“He’s a personable guy who doesn’t coach by fear or intimidation. He lets us play,” Jackson added. “Guys aren’t afraid to make mistakes or to make plays and that’s one of the best traits you can have in a coach.”

Sophomore goalie Jimmy Howard said the team has learned a lot from Whitehead this season. “He thinks things through. But when we need a kick in the rear end, he’ll give it to us,” he said.

Sophomore center Derek Damon said he has learned lessons from Whitehead for on and off the ice. “He has really taught us so much about the game, stuff I never thought I’d know,” he said. “But, also, off the ice, he has taught us how to conduct ourselves as college athletes.”

A winning style

Jackson also said Whitehead isn’t the kind of coach who thinks he has all the answers.

“He doesn’t put himself above the team. If a player makes a suggestion to help the team get better, he’s all ears. He’ll do whatever it takes to make the team better,” said Jackson.

Whitehead explained that his self-confidence allows others to help the team.

“You have to be that way as a coach. You can’t worry about how people look at you. You can’t afford not to give people the opportunity to help the team,” said Whitehead. “I have no qualms about doing whatever it takes to win hockey games.”

He said he is blessed to work with a “great, great staff” that includes Standbrook, Campbell Blair, and Guy Perron. He allows them plenty of freedom and gives them a lot of responsibility.

“We’ve got the best coaching staff in the country,” said Doyle.

“He wants input from us, which is appreciated,” said Blair.

Whitehead said he is still emerging as a coach.

“One of the characteristics I shared with Shawn was we both love to learn. We really focus on improving,” he said. “As a result, I’m a different coach than I was last year and I was different last year than I was the year before. When you don’t have any more desire to improve or help the team, you shouldn’t be coaching.”

Whitehead said he has been “really fortunate to have worked with so many elite coaches. I’ve tried to draw in as much as I can but still be true to my personality.”

Whitehead spends a lot of time with his players, trying to help them improve, Blair said.

“He’s good with the guys. He’s honest with them, and he gives them a little latitude,” he said.

Family ties

Whitehead is a native of Trenton, N.J., who played football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey as a youngster.

“My older brother, Charlie, had gotten into hockey, so when we moved to Trenton, my dad [Harlan] started the peewee hockey program there,” said Whitehead, who is 15 years younger than his half-brother.

“My dad also coached Little League. He was involved in the community. He liked helping kids,” said Whitehead.

Whitehead’s home was like a visit to a sporting goods store.

“We had skates under the sofa and sticks everywhere,” said Tim’s sister Priscilla, who is one year older. “He always loved sports. We had a lot of fun together. He’s a great guy. We’re so proud of him.”

Among his several jobs growing up, the witty Whitehead said, was as a “fix-it man at a hotel who couldn’t fix anything” and an incompetent waiter at Mexican restaurant.

“I was brutal. I kept giving people free chips so I could sell more beer. They [owners] didn’t see it that way. They fired me,” said Whitehead.

“I was never a good waiter. But I was a great dishwasher and gas station attendant. I loved to wash dishes,” said Whitehead, whose only glaring mistake as a gas station attendant was leaving the nozzle in the car that drove away.

“When the nozzle popped off, gas sprayed everywhere, and we had to shut down the station,” said Whitehead.

He played high school hockey in New Jersey before going to Northwood Prep School in Lake Placid, N.Y. Bruce Delventhal, his former peewee coach, was the coach at Northwood Prep.

“I was an usher at the 1980 Olympics,” said Whitehead, who witnessed the United States’ Miracle on Ice.

A slick playmaker, Whitehead went to Hamilton and eventually became an assistant captain.

“We didn’t have great teams. My claim to fame was I hosted [eventual NHL goalie] Guy Hebert on his visit to Hamilton,” joked Whitehead.

His father died when Whitehead was in college and he eventually moved home for a year to help his mother.

“She didn’t know how to drive, but he set her up with driving lessons and helped her become independent,” said Priscilla.

She also said he is humorous and sang a funny song at his wedding to Dena (Smith). It was a song they used to sing after games in England.

“He said it was a song they sung on special occasions like winning a big hockey game and weddings,” relayed a chuckling Priscilla.

She added that her little brother “loves to dance.”

Dena said her husband is a terrific family man and “when he gets home from work, he is totally focused on the kids [4-year-old Natalie and 2-year-old Zachary].”

She said hide-and-seek, Candyland, and hockey in the basement with Zachary are family favorites as is watching “Spongebob Squarepants.”

She said her husband also enjoys working out, public speaking engagements, and community outreach.

“And I love to play basketball. Two-on-two is my favorite. I used to play when I was at Lowell. I don’t have time now,” said Whitehead, whose mother, Ellie (Ferguson), is a Portland native. “I love playing with our kids. We make up games and sing silly songs that don’t make sense to anybody except us.”

The Whiteheads love living in the Bangor area. They have found the people to be very nice. It has been a good fit.

“We couldn’t be happier,” said Dena.