Legendary college hockey coach Ron Mason passes away

Ron Mason at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Detroit in 2013. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey)
Ron Mason at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Detroit in 2013. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey)

 

By @MichaelCaples –

The college hockey world lost one of its best coaches during the night.

Ron Mason, once the record-holder for most NCAA hockey wins as a head coach, has passed away at age 76.

He won 924 men’s college hockey games over 36 seasons at Lake Superior State (1966-73), Bowling Green State University (1973-79) and Michigan State University (1979-2002).

Mason guided two of those teams to national championships – winning a NAIA national title with LSSU in 1972 and a NCAA national title with MSU in 1986.

One of the creators of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in 1972, Mason captured 10 CCHA regular-season titles – three with Bowling Green and seven with the Spartans – and 13 postseason crowns.

He was named the American Hockey Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 1992, and CCHA coach of the year on seven different occasions.