Sunday, January 19, 2014

Hay gets 600th win against former team

Press Release

Vancouver Giants Head Coach Don Hay became just the third coach in Western Hockey League history to reach 600-career regular season Western Hockey League wins after the Giants defeated his former team the Kamloops Blazers 6-2 on Friday January 17, 2014.

Hay, who joins Lorne Molleken and Ken Hodge in this exclusive club, reached this historic milestone in front of friends and family in his hometown.

The Kamloops native is currently in his 15th season as a head coach in the Western Hockey League, his 10th with the Vancouver Giants, and he coached his 1000th game last season.

Hay boasts an impressive coaching résumé having led the Kamloops Blazers to two President's Cups and two Memorial Cups in three years (92-95), and more recently, leading the Vancouver Giants to a President's Cup in 2006 and a Memorial Cup in 2007.

On the international stage, Hay coached Team Canada at the 1995 World Junior Hockey Championships where they not only won the Gold Medal but finished the tournament with a perfect 7 and 0 record. He also coached Canada's National Junior Team in 2012 to a Bronze Medal.

More recently, Hay coached Team Canada to their first gold in four years at the 2013 World Under-18 Championships. The team also finished the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record.

Hay is a two-time winner of the Dunc McCallum Trophy as the Western Hockey League's Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2009, and was honoured by the Canadian Hockey League when they named him the best Western Hockey League coach of all time. Hay was inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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