By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer
May 12, 2009 12:52 am
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Troy Jutting, Eric Means and Darren Blue have been together as the Minnesota State men’s hockey coaching staff for nine seasons.
That’s longer than any current staff in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Well, until Monday it was longer.
That’s when the trio was finally broken up, and Means left the band. He isn’t going far away, however, as he’s taking his act just two doors down at All Seasons Arena’s Don Brose Hockey Center.
Means was named Minnesota State’s new women’s hockey coach during an afternoon press conference above the empty ice rinks that his old and new teams call home every day.
“He’s ready for the job,” Jutting said of is longtime assistant. “There’s no question Eric’s ready for this.”
Means has been an assistant coach with the Mavericks men’s team for 14 years, working with the team’s defensemen and serving as recruiting coordinator. Before Jutting became the head coach in 2000, the two were assistants together under Brose for five years.
Means choked up a bit when thanking Jutting and credited Brose for “kicking my butt” to get his master’s degree when he was a graduate assistant so he could become a full-time assistant.
With his loyalty and years of service, the 38-year-old Means was the obvious choice to take over the struggling women’s program — if he wanted it.
But Minnesota State didn’t simply slide Means over from the men’s offices, even if he indeed deserved the shot.
Instead, the university did its due diligence and came up with a strong and impressive group of three finalists, each of whom interviewed on campus last week.
During Monday’s announcement, athletic director Kevin Buisman raved about the quality of applicants before officially introducing Means as coach.
On May 4, Harvard women’s assistant coach and former Minnesota Duluth women’s assistant Joakim Flygh interviewed. The next day, Mercyhurst associate head coach Paul Colontino was in Mankato.
Together, those two candidates had a combined nine years of experience with teams that, at the end of this last season, were ranked in the top 10. Each had also coached in the Frozen Four, a destination that seems to be light years away from Minnesota State, a program that has had just one winning season in its history.
“Eric is better for going through the process,” Buisman said. “The other candidates represented high-quality programs, programs we aspire to.”
Means, who was the last of the three to interview, must have impressed even those who have known him for so long.
As players filed out of the Johnson Alumni Room following their time to talk to Means during last week’s interview session one of the players could be heard shouting:
“Let’s lace ’em up! I’m ready to practice right now.”
They only have to wait a few months. Means has been ready for years.
Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Click here to access his college hockey blog or e-mail him at sfrederick@mankatofreepress.com.
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