|
|||||||
Greg Puhalski Named UHL Coach of the Year
Tuesday, Apr. 24th, 2007
LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO - The United Hockey League (UHL) announced Tuesday that Chicago Hounds head coach Greg Puhalski has been named the 2006-07 UHL Coach of the Year as selected by league head coaches and general managers.
Behind the Chicago bench in their inaugural season, Puhalski guided the Hounds to a 31-38-7 record during the regular season (.454 winning percentage) and a berth in the 2007 Colonial Cup Playoffs. The Hounds’ 2006-07 opening day lineup consisted of just two players who had scored 20 or more goals in a professional season. The roster also had eight rookies, five of which had played fewer than five professional games.
After starting the season with a relatively inexperienced group of players that he had never coached before, Puhalski transformed the team into one of the league’s best during the second half of the year. On Feb. 4, the Hounds had a 16-27-1 record and a slim chance of making the playoffs, but they finished the season on a 15-11-6 run. During their hot stretch, Chicago tied for the second-longest streak of non-losses (nine) and most consecutive road wins (five) in the UHL during the 2006-07 season. Several roster moves during the year gave the Hounds 13 rookies on the final day of the season, the most of any team in the league, when Chicago ended with the seventh-best point total in the UHL (69) and the fourth seed in the Western Conference bracket of the Colonial Cup Playoffs.
Through his leadership, he guided several of his players to individual accolades. Two of his rookies ranked among the top eight in scoring among first-year players, and rookie forward Todd Grant earned the honor of Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Month for March. Defenseman Chris Busby was also named a second-team UHL All-Star last week.
The 42-year-old native of Fort William, Ontario has coached the most games (680) and has the most coaching wins (390) in the history of the UHL. Puhalski took over the reigns of the Hounds after spending the previous six seasons in Fort Wayne where he twice led the Komets to the Finals and captured the Colonial Cup in 2002-03. Prior to that, he coached the UHL’s Port Huron Border Cats for two seasons and the ECHL’s Toledo Storm for four years.
It is the second time that Puhalski has won the UHL Coach of the Year. He previously was honored in 2002-03 as the head coach of Fort Wayne.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF UHL COACH OF THE YEAR
2005-06 Brian Curran, Quad City
2004-05 Mark Reeds, Kalamazoo
2003-04 Mark Reeds, Kalamazoo
2002-03 Greg Puhalski, Fort Wayne
2001-02 Mark Reeds, Missouri
2000-01 Terry Ruskowski, Knoxville
1999-00 Brad Jones, B.C.
1998-99 Rich Kromm, Muskegon
1997-98 Robert Dirk, Winston-Salem
1996-97 Robbie Nichols, Flint
1995-96 Mark Johnson, Madison
1994-95 Steve Ludzik, Muskegon
1993-94 Tom Barrett, Chatham
1992-93 Bill McDonald, Thunder Bay
1991-92 Peter Horachek, St. Thomas
Behind the Chicago bench in their inaugural season, Puhalski guided the Hounds to a 31-38-7 record during the regular season (.454 winning percentage) and a berth in the 2007 Colonial Cup Playoffs. The Hounds’ 2006-07 opening day lineup consisted of just two players who had scored 20 or more goals in a professional season. The roster also had eight rookies, five of which had played fewer than five professional games.
After starting the season with a relatively inexperienced group of players that he had never coached before, Puhalski transformed the team into one of the league’s best during the second half of the year. On Feb. 4, the Hounds had a 16-27-1 record and a slim chance of making the playoffs, but they finished the season on a 15-11-6 run. During their hot stretch, Chicago tied for the second-longest streak of non-losses (nine) and most consecutive road wins (five) in the UHL during the 2006-07 season. Several roster moves during the year gave the Hounds 13 rookies on the final day of the season, the most of any team in the league, when Chicago ended with the seventh-best point total in the UHL (69) and the fourth seed in the Western Conference bracket of the Colonial Cup Playoffs.
Through his leadership, he guided several of his players to individual accolades. Two of his rookies ranked among the top eight in scoring among first-year players, and rookie forward Todd Grant earned the honor of Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Month for March. Defenseman Chris Busby was also named a second-team UHL All-Star last week.
The 42-year-old native of Fort William, Ontario has coached the most games (680) and has the most coaching wins (390) in the history of the UHL. Puhalski took over the reigns of the Hounds after spending the previous six seasons in Fort Wayne where he twice led the Komets to the Finals and captured the Colonial Cup in 2002-03. Prior to that, he coached the UHL’s Port Huron Border Cats for two seasons and the ECHL’s Toledo Storm for four years.
It is the second time that Puhalski has won the UHL Coach of the Year. He previously was honored in 2002-03 as the head coach of Fort Wayne.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF UHL COACH OF THE YEAR
2005-06 Brian Curran, Quad City
2004-05 Mark Reeds, Kalamazoo
2003-04 Mark Reeds, Kalamazoo
2002-03 Greg Puhalski, Fort Wayne
2001-02 Mark Reeds, Missouri
2000-01 Terry Ruskowski, Knoxville
1999-00 Brad Jones, B.C.
1998-99 Rich Kromm, Muskegon
1997-98 Robert Dirk, Winston-Salem
1996-97 Robbie Nichols, Flint
1995-96 Mark Johnson, Madison
1994-95 Steve Ludzik, Muskegon
1993-94 Tom Barrett, Chatham
1992-93 Bill McDonald, Thunder Bay
1991-92 Peter Horachek, St. Thomas
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:31 AM.
More Community
FAQ | RSS feeds | Link to us | Privacy policy | Contact
Any information taken from this site and used on another website or other media must credit hockeyfights.com.
© 2009 hockeyfights.com. All rights reserved.
site by SingerNet
Any information taken from this site and used on another website or other media must credit hockeyfights.com.
© 2009 hockeyfights.com. All rights reserved.
site by SingerNet
