Mike Gilligan

Mike Gilligan
Biographical details
BornBeverly, Massachusetts
Playing career
1967–1970
1971–1972
1972–1973		Salem State
Position(s)Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975–1981Salem State
1981–1983Yale (Assistant)
1983–1984Yale
1984–2003Vermont
2003–2006US Women's National Team (Assistant)
2006–2014Vermont (Assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall419-350-49
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champion (1996)
Awards
1986 Salem State Athletic Hall of Fame
1988 ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year
2005 John MacInnes Award
2008 Parker-York Award
2010 Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing the  USA
Women's World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Sweden
Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Torino

Mike Gilligan is a retired American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach at Vermont from 1983 through 2003 and later became an assistant with the UVM women's team for seven more seasons before retiring in 2014.[1]

Career

Playing

Mike Gilligan started as a defenseman for Salem State for three seasons, serving as captain and earning All-American honors in the final two[2] before moving onto a brief minor league career in the early 1970s.[3]

Coaching

Gilligan returned to Salem State in 1975 to serve as head coach for his alma mater. Playing in ECAC Hockey's now defunct Division II league, Salem State became a powerhouse under Gilligan, winning at least 20 games in each of his six seasons behind the bench. Their best finish came in 1979 when they finished 4th in the NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship.[4] After the 1980-81 campaign Gilligan accepted an offer to serve as Tim Taylor's assistant at Yale. Two years later Taylor took a hiatus from the University to serve as an assistant for Team USA at the 1984 Winter Olympics, leaving the Bulldogs in the hands of Gilligan for the 1983–84 season. Gilligan acquitted himself by getting Yale to a 12-13-1 record[5] and after the conclusion of the season was chosen to replace Jim Cross at Vermont[2]

Gilligan's first season with the Catamounts was a disappointing, finishing with an 8-21-0 record, but by the end of his second season he had gotten them back on track, winning 17 games. over the next 12 seasons Vermont would post winning records 10 times and made their first NCAA tournament berth in 1988.[6] Gillian's best season came in 1995–96 when he won Vermont's it's only Regular Season Championship with a 27-win season and saw the Catamounts make the Frozen Four for the first time, finishing 3rd in the 1996 tournament behind the strong play of future NHLers Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas.[7]

In the 1999–00 season both Gilligan and Vermont were tarnished as a result of a hazing scandal that caused the University to cancel its season after only seventeen games[8] and while it did not lead to Gilligan's dismissal he would never again field a winning team, resigning from his post after the 2002–03 season, one win shy of the school record.[9]

In addition to coaching hockey at the University of Vermont, Gilligan served as the head coach of the catamount golf team from 1993 through 2009.

Women's Teams

After leaving Vermont Gilligan became an assistant for the US Women's National Team for over two years, helping the team to win gold at the 2005 IIHF Women's World Championship and bronze at Torino the following year.[2] Gilligan returned to Vermont in the fall of 2006 as an assistant for the women's team and remained in that position until his retirement in 2014.[1]

Honors

Gilligan was inducted into the Salem State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986[2] and was co-ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year with Bill Cleary two years later.[10] After retiring as head coach Gilligan was named the 2005 recipient of the John MacInnes Award,[11] the 2008 recipient of the Parker-York Award[2] and was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey hall of Fame in 2010[12]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Salem State Vikings (ECAC 2) (1975–1981)
1975–76 Salem State 21–6–0 15–5–0 4th ECAC 2 Semifinals
1976–77 Salem State 22–5–0 7th ECAC 2 Quarterfinals
1977–78 Salem State 21–8–0 17–7–0 4th ECAC 2 Semifinals
1978–79 Salem State 23–11–1 18–8–1 1st NCAA Consolation Game (Loss)
1979–80 Salem State 21–8–0 19–6–0 4th ECAC 2 Quarterfinals
1980–81 Salem State 20–10–1 16–6–1 3rd ECAC 2 Semifinals
Salem State: 128–48–2
Yale Bulldogs (ECAC Hockey) (1983–1984)
1983-84 Yale 12-13-1 10-10-1 t-9th
Yale: 12-13-1 10-10-1
Vermont Catamounts (ECAC Hockey) (1984–2003)
1984-85 Vermont 8-21-0 4-17-0 10th
1985-86 Vermont 17-13-1 11-10-0 6th ECAC Quarterfinals
1986-87 Vermont 18-14-0 9-13-0 6th ECAC Quarterfinals
1987-88 Vermont 21-11-3 14-7-1 4th NCAA East Regional Quarterfinals
1988-89 Vermont 20-13-1 13-9-0 t-5th ECAC Runner-Up
1989-90 Vermont 9-20-2 7-13-2 9th ECAC First Round
1990-91 Vermont 17-14-2 12-8-2 6th ECAC Quarterfinals
1991-92 Vermont 16-12-3 10-9-3 7th ECAC Preliminary Round
1992-93 Vermont 12-16-3 10-11-1 7th ECAC Preliminary Round
1993-94 Vermont 15-12-6 10-6-6 5th ECAC Quarterfinals
1994-95 Vermont 19-14-2 11-9-2 5th ECAC Quarterfinals
1995-96 Vermont 27-7-4 17-2-3 1st NCAA Frozen Four
1996-97 Vermont 22-11-3 13-6-3 3rd NCAA East Regional Quarterfinals
1997-98 Vermont 10-20-4 7-11-4 t-9th ECAC First Round
1998-99 Vermont 13-18-2 7-13-2 9th ECAC First Round
1999-00 Vermont 5-9-3 3-2-2 12th* Ineligible
2000-01 Vermont 14-18-2 8-12-2 10th ECAC Four vs. Five
2001-02 Vermont 3-26-2 3-18-1 12th
2002-03 Vermont 13-20-3 8-14-0 10th ECAC Quarterfinals
Vermont: 279-289-46 177-190-34
Total: 419-350-49

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* Vermont canceled the 1999-2000 season after only 17 games due to a hazing scandal.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Send Mike Gilligan Your Best for Keepsake Book as He Retires". Vermont Catamounts. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Staff Directory: Mike Gilligan". Vermont Catamounts. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  3. ^ "Mike Gilligan". Hockey DB. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  4. ^ "Mike Gilligan Year-By-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  5. ^ "Yale Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  6. ^ "Vermont Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  7. ^ "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  8. ^ "Vermont Cancels season in Player Hazing Scandal". The New York Times. 2000-01-15. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  9. ^ "Vermont's Gilligan Retires". USCHO.com. 2005-05-16. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  10. ^ "ECAC Hockey Awards". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  11. ^ "Gilligan Wins 2005 MacInnes Award". USCHO.com. 2005-01-26. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  12. ^ "Mike Gilligan Inducted Into The Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame". Vermont Catamounts. 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tim Taylor Award
1987–88 With Bill Cleary 		Succeeded by