More congratulations to college hockey’s winningest coach. MSU hockey head coach Ron Mason reached the landmark 900-win mark Saturday after the Spartans downed Ferris State at Munn Ice Arena.
The milestone comes only weeks after Mason and his crew successfully pulled off the largest attended hockey game in the world.
More than 74,000 people attended “The Cold War” in Spartan Stadium on Oct. 6. His Spartans (3-0-1 overall, 3-0-1 CCHA) hold the top ranking in national polls.
Many parents of MSU students were still in high school when Mason landed his first head-coaching job at Lake Superior State in 1966. The Lakers won the NAIA tournament just six years after Mason started and made five appearances while he was the coach.
In 1973, he took a job at Bowling Green. Although Mason never led the team to a national tournament, the Falcons had three first-place finishes in his first six years and had three CCHA playoff championships in his last three years at the school.
Then in 1979 - at least some MSU students had been born by then - Mason took over the struggling Spartan program.
The green and white struggle no more on the ice. Mason has led the team to a national championship in 1986 and 21 NCAA Tournament appearances, including guiding the Spartans seven times to the Frozen Four.
He’s also been honored seven times as CCHA Coach of the Year, and the league named its playoff trophy after him last year. In 1992, Mason won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year.
It’s no wonder then that the MSU Board of Trustees made him the highest paid hockey coach. The board on Oct. 13 approved a 13 percent raise to increase his annual salary to $173,215 and extended his contract through 2005.
But more impressive than his team’s record - which stands at the .686 mark under Mason - is the growth of his players. He has coached 20 Spartans to All-American honors, and 44 of Mason’s MSU players have gone on to the NHL.
Such an amazing mentor is hard to find.
Hockey may not be the most watched sport at MSU, but with Mason at the helm it has become arguably the most successful.
Thanks, coach Mason. We wish you and the hockey squad the best success this season - and, we hope, for many years to come.
After all, only 93 more wins to become the hockey coach with the most victories at one school.
