Huskies' Legacy, Husky Honor

John MacInnes' impact still powers Michigan Tech

Aug. 15, 2007

By Elliot Olshansky

CSTV.com


	ELLIOT OLSHANSKY Elliot is CSTV.com's hockey editor and runs his Rink Rat hockey blog on CSTV.com. E-mail here!

Michigan Tech head coach Jamie Russell doesn't mince words when he talks about his goals for the Huskies and the example of John MacInnes.

"A big mission of mine has been to return Michigan Tech hockey back to the standard that John worked so hard to get," Russell said.

Of course, any program would be well served to try to live up to the example set by John J. MacInnes, and now, MacInnes' example is being raised to a greater pedestal.

On Wednesday, USA Hockey announced that MacInnes - who coached Michigan Tech from 1956 to 1982 - will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in October, along with former Minnesota and NHL star Aaron Broten and NHL greats John Vanbiesbrouck and Bobby Carpenter. While nearly a quarter-century has gone by since the legendary Huskies coach passed away, the honor comes in time for his wish to be fulfilled.

"I'm glad I lived long enough to see it," said Jerry MacInnes, John's wife, "and I know my family is extremely pleased about it. Before John died, he said that he didn't know if the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame would ever see fit to induct him, but he would hope that that would happen for his grandchildren."

It's not as if MacInnes' legacy isn't already well established in Houghton and in hockey. The MVP trophy of the Great Lakes Invitational was named in his honor Dec. 12, 1982, and in 1986, MacInnes was honored posthumously with the NHL's Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding contributions to hockey in the United States.

Boston University head coach Jack Parker faced MacInnes and Michigan Tech three times as a head coach and went 0-3, and can speak to just how great MacInnes' contributions were

"When I was playing college hockey and when I first started coaching, Michigan Tech teams were the great teams in college hockey" Parker said. "From '65 to '75, John MacInnes' teams, you could pick one or two or three of those teams that were as good as any teams ever assembled.

"They were the epitome of the western collegiate hockey teams in those days: big tall lanky forwards who could really skate, strong defensemen, much more of a physical game than we were playing in the east, much more of a pro-style game, and that was what underlined his teams, their skating ability and their size."

Of course, his legacy is felt most of all in Houghton, where his son Scott is the City Manager, and at Michigan Tech, the school he coached to three national championships and seven WCHA titles. The Huskies have played in MacInnes Student Ice Arena since the building was renamed in his honor 1991, but the greater testament to his legacy comes in the way the Huskies program is run, particularly off the ice.

"I've talked to a number of alumni that played for John," Russell said, "and the impact that he had for them was not only as a coach but as a person. He was obviously extremely successful, and some of the things that were really important to John were the academics, making sure that players graduated with their degree."

The current Huskies coach certainly has the endorsement of the MacInnes family as he looks to restore the Huskies to their past glory. The Huskies have had only three winning seasons since Jim Nahrgang took the reins from MacInnes in 1982, but one of them came in 2006-07, a year that saw Russell guide the Huskies back into the national rankings and the WCHA Final Five. The official induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame will take place Oct. 12, on the eve of a college hockey season that finds the program MacInnes guided once again vibrant and full of life.

"We have high hopes for the program," said Jerry MacInnes, who still lives in Houghton and attends the Huskies' games. "Jamie Russell has done a fine job and we're looking forward to repeating some of the accomplishments that John had in the past here at Michigan Tech. For a small college with such high academic standards, it speaks very well for the program."

For Russell, though, there's never a bad time to honor MacInnes, regardless of how his former team is performing.

"To be honest," Russell said, "I don't know if the two are really related. It certainly is fitting, in my mind that Michigan Tech hockey had a good year, but I think what John did at Michigan Tech and for college hockey certainly stands by itself. He really established what college hockey is all about, and I think he was a great ambassador for the sport."

Now, through the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, MacInnes' example will continue to inspire.