- Mel Pearson
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This article is about the college ice hockey coach. For his father, see Mel Pearson (ice hockey b. 1938).
Mel Pearson 
Sport(s) Ice hockey Current position Title Head Coach Team Michigan Tech Conference WCHA Biographical details Born February 8, 1959 Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia Playing career 1977–81 Michigan Tech Coaching career (HC unless noted) 2011–present
1999–2011
1988–99
1982–88Michigan Tech
Michigan (associate head)
Michigan (assistant)
Michigan Tech (assistant)Head coaching record Overall 7–4–1 Accomplishments and honors Championships 2 NCAA National Championships (1996, 1998)
9 CCHA Championships (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010)Awards 2000 Terry Flanagan Award Melvin K. Pearson (born February 8, 1959) is a former college ice hockey player and is the first-year head coach of the Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team. Pearson played for Michigan Tech from 1977 to 1981, then served as an assistant coach for the team from 1982 to 1988. He then spent 23 years as an assistant coach and associate head coach for the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team under Red Berenson before accepting the head coaching position at Michigan Tech in 2011.
Contents
Early years and playing career
(L–R) Rick Boehm, Al Mickalich, Tim Watters and Mel Pearson display the third place trophy after defeating Northern Michigan at the 1981 NCAA Tournament.
Mel Pearson was born in Vancouver on February 8, 1959, the son of Vancouver Canucks player George "Mel" Pearson. His father's playing career ended in 1973 as a member of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, and Mel, who had been playing since the age of six, played hockey in suburban Minneapolis at Edina East High School under coach Willard Ikola.[1] Pearson was recruited to play college hockey by both Michigan and Michigan Tech, and he ultimately chose Michigan Tech after visiting the campus and "[falling] in love with the place".[1] While on his visit, Pearson met with coach John MacInnes, who "made me feel so welcome, and I knew I wanted to play for him right away".[1] Pearson played forward for Michigan Tech from 1977 to 1981 and scored 21 goals among 56 points in 97 games.[2] As a senior, he helped the team advance to the semifinal of the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, where the team lost to Minnesota. Michigan Tech won the Great Lakes Invitational tournament four times in Pearson's four years as a player. He scored the tournament-winning goal in triple overtime against Michigan in 1979.[3] Pearson graduated from Michigan Tech in 1981 with a degree in business administration.[1]
Coaching career
Michigan Tech (1982–88)
In 1982, Michigan Tech promoted assistant coach Jim Nahrgang to head coach following MacInnes's retirement. Nahrgang and assistant coach Herb Boxer, who had both served on MacInnes's coaching staff during Pearson's time as a player, sought out Pearson to fill the other coaching position. "[T]hey were the ones that really got me into coaching. I hadn't really thought about being a coach until they approached me", Pearson said.[1] In addition to his on-ice responsibilities, Pearson recruited players including eventual National Hockey League (NHL) regulars Randy McKay and Damian Rhodes, and Michigan Tech's first Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) scoring champion, Shawn Harrison.[1][4] Pearson retained his assistant coach position when Boxer replaced Nahrgang, who resigned in February 1985, as head coach. During Pearson's tenure as assistant coach, Michigan Tech accumulated a record of 97–136–9. The team neither advanced beyond the first round of the WCHA playoffs nor qualified for the NCAA tournament.[4]
Michigan (1988–2011)
Michigan Tech (2011–present)
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Frahm, Wes (Fall 2011). "The Mel Pearson File". Michigan Tech Magazine (Michigan Technological University) 48 (4): 14–16. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61uw4PSVH. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ "Mel Pearson hockey statistics & profile". hockeyDB.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61uw8ClzB. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ Moloney, Ryan C. (April 2, 2001). "Second in command: Mel Pearson remains right at home as Michigan hockey's No. 2 man". The Michigan Daily (Ann Arbor). ISSN 0745-967. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61v2C1w0i. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Section 2" (PDF). 2010–11 Hockey Yearbook. Michigan Technological University. 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61vWZK1V2. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1959 births
- Ice hockey people from Minnesota
- Living people
- Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players
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