Ann Arbor - It really was a pretty strange ending.

As it turned out, longtime MSU head coach Ron Mason concluded his career Friday afternoon with a 2-0 loss to Colorado College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Yost Ice Arena.

The loss, particularly so early in the tournament, was surely disappointing for Mason - a 62-year-old, super-competitive, old-school coach who will become MSU’s next athletics director on July 1.

But the extraneous circumstances were what really capped off the twisted irony of his final moments behind the bench.

With a minute or so left on the clock - and a Spartan defeat imminent - a couple of sections of Michigan students started derisively chanting “Good-bye, Ma-son.”

That wasn’t too bad, but after shaking Tiger head coach Scott Owens’ hand after the game, Mason started his walk off the ice to taunting waves from U-M fans.

When he exited the rink through the Zamboni entrance, a bunch of Wolverine fans yelled “See ya,” followed by the string of expletives usually directed at opposing players headed to the penalty box.

Mason and his players used the U-M locker room Friday, and his last postgame press conference was held in Wolverine head coach Red Berenson’s office. It was quite a maize-and-blue finale for a guy who says he bleeds green and white.

“When it’s over, it’s over,” a surprisingly calm Mason said after the game. “It’s that simple. It doesn’t matter where you are, what game you played, who played in it - it’s over.

“We had their locker room - that was a first. I’ve had a lot of firsts in my life and that was another one.”

Mason didn’t make a big deal about ending his legendary career in Ann Arbor, despite the implicit irony of the situation. He really didn’t reflect on his career too much either, saying that will more likely happen this summer or fall.

In reality, Mason was still reeling from the game itself.

“I was like how I always am - kind of mad and sick inside at the end of a year,” Mason said Friday.

“Fortunately for me, I’ve been to the top of the mountain and haven’t been down very often. Obviously, there’s a lot to remember. It’s going to take a long time.”

Mason finishes his 36-year coaching career with a 924-380-83 record. He went 635-270-69 in 23 years at MSU.

He is college hockey’s all-time winningest coach, with 180 more wins than second-place former Bemidji State coach Bob Peters and 269 ahead of the next-winningest active coach, Jack Parker of Boston University.

His accolades are unparalleled, having also won seven CCHA regular-season titles, 10 CCHA Tournament titles and the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year in 1992.

The CCHA Tournament championship trophy was renamed the Mason Cup in his honor last year.

His only national championship came in 1986.

Not counting current MSU players with professional futures, Mason has placed 44 former players into the NHL.

But he was never satisfied to the point where he felt he could simply rest on his accomplishments. Players, coaches and fans around MSU and around the country have often marveled at his tireless work ethic.

“In this position, you’re always wondering what you could have done better,” Mason said.

“What could I have done better to have had more victories, more opportunities? I will always love the competition part of coaching.”

The coach who ended Mason’s career, Colorado College’s Owens, plans to be the answer to future hockey trivia questions.

His Tigers also ended the career of 20-year Wisconsin head coach Jeff Sauer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs on March 14.

“It’s quite a coincidence,” Owens said. “I don’t know Coach Mason very well, but I just know how highly respected he is and what an unbelievable career he’s had.”

Mason will be succeeded by Northern Michigan head coach Rick Comley, who will be introduced as MSU’s new coach at noon today.

Comley, 55, is young enough to have played for Mason when the Blyth, Ontario, native was just starting his coaching career at Lake Superior State in the late 1960s.

MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller, arguably Mason’s best player on this year’s team, hadn’t even been born yet when Mason left Bowling Green to come to MSU in 1979.

“Coach has always been a great inspiration,” said Miller, who has had five cousins also play for Mason.

“He knows the game so well. I appreciate him as a coach, and as a person, he’s always been supportive of us.

“He’s made Michigan State a great place to play, and I thank him for the opportunity to play at Michigan State.”

The Spartan players, particularly the departing seniors, were more emotional than their coach after the game.

Mason actually seemed incredibly composed as his way of life for three-and-a-half decades abruptly came to an end.

When asked if he had any special plans Friday to commemorate his final game, Mason was as blunt as usual.

“I’ll probably do about the same damn thing I always do - go home and turn on an NHL game,” he said.

James Jahnke can be reached jahnkeja@msu.edu.