The University of Maine men’s hockey program is undergoing a substantial facelift.

With associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Guy Perron’s decision to take a scouting job with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and Grant Standbrook’s decision to retire as the volunteer assistant, there will be a new look.

Standbrook had been the one constant in the program for 20 years, playing an important role in head coach Tim Whitehead’s transition after taking over for the late Shawn Walsh in 2001.

Even though Standbrook had stepped down as associate head coach/recruiting coordinator to become a volunteer assistant two years ago, he was still the face of Maine hockey. He was the man who recruited and developed eight Bear goalies into NHLers.

Perron returned to his alma mater as the women’s head coach before replacing Standbrook as Whitehead’s right-hand man.

The fact Perron is taking a substantial pay cut in these difficult economic times to do essentially the same job he was doing at Maine tells you that he and Whitehead had their differences of opinion.

Whitehead and Standbrook had theirs, too.

But there’s nothing wrong with that. Coaching staffs often disagree. If things can’t be worked out, changes occur.

The Whitehead-Standbrook partnership came inches away from winning two NCAA titles: losing to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in the 2002 NCAA final and to Denver 1-0 in 2004.

So now we turn the page and Whitehead has to fill Perron’s spot. He may or may not fill the volunteer assistant’s position.

The three most likely choices are alums Bob Corkum, the associate head coach with the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs in the Eastern Junior Hockey League; Jim Montgomery, an assistant at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute and Scott Pellerin, an assistant with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.

All would be good choices.

On the surface, Corkum would appear to be the favorite because the other two seem to be more locked into their contracts.

Montgomery has been at RPI for two years and is in the midst of trying to resurrect a once-prominent program that has been nothing more than an after-thought in recent years.

As for Pellerin, why would an AHL assistant [Los Angeles Kings organization] leave to become a college assistant?

Jack Capuano would be another viable candidate but he is a head coach in the AHL with Bridgeport so, even though he and his family live in Bangor, why would be want to leave a head coaching job in the AHL to be a college assistant?

If Corkum gets the job, he would get the opportunity to coach his son, Kelen, who will come to Maine in a year.

Whitehead has a lot of confidence in assistant Dan Kerluke and they are trying to make recruiting inroads.

The new assistant would also play an important role in the recruiting.

Hockey headlines the sports program at Maine and it is imperative that they show improvement after coming off a 13-18-3 campaign and missing the Hockey East playoffs. That ended a string of nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

This year’s team will be one of Maine’s youngest in a long time with two-thirds of the roster being comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

It will also be an important year for the university because none of its teams reached .500 a year ago and there are noteworthy facility improvements.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

990-8231