UMaine Men’s Ice Hockey coach dies

ORONO, Maine (WABI) - University of Maine Men’s Ice Hockey Coach Dennis “Red” Gendron died today.

Gendron passed away while on the golf course this afternoon.

He took over coaching the Black Bears in 2013.

He was 63 years old.

Here is a statement from the University of Maine.

The University of Maine has been informed that men’s ice hockey head coach Red Gendron experienced a medical condition this afternoon and passed away. He was 63.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by Red’s sudden death,” says UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “He was a force in UMaine Athletics and in the legacy of our men’s ice hockey program. We mourn his passing and remember his many contributions to the generations of players he mentored and to the program that lit up Black Bear Nation and the state of Maine. Our thoughts are with his wife Janet, daughters Katelyn and Allison, his coaching staff and players. They have our support and respect for their privacy during this difficult time.”

“Words cannot express our deep sadness from the tragic, sudden loss of Red Gendron,” says UMaine Director of Athletics Ken Ralph. “Our community and the entire UMaine Athletics family mourn the loss of Coach Gendron and we ask you all to keep him, his family, his friends, and our hockey staff and student-athletes in your thoughts through this agonizing time.”

November 27, 1957 (age 63 years) Born in Boston, Massachusetts

Gendron’s previous stint at UMaine began in the fall of 1990 and was named University of Maine head men’s ice hockey coach on May 28, 2013.

Education - New England College (B.S. History, 1979)

University of Maine (M.S. Education, 1993)

He has guided eight USA Hockey Teams, including the U.S. National Junior Team on three occasions. USA Hockey uses Gendron’s book, “Coaching Hockey Successfully,” as the advanced-level manual for its coaching education program. At Bellows Free Academy in Vermont, he guided squads to four state championships in the 1980s.

Gendron spent 11 seasons in professional hockey with the New Jersey Devils organization. Gendron earned three NHL championship rings as a coach and has twice had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. He was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils when they captured the Stanley Cup in 1995, and was an assistant and head coach, respectively, with their AHL team in Albany when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003.

Head Coaching Experience -

Albany River Rats (AHL), 2002-03 – 2003-04

Indiana Ice (USHL), 2004-05

University of Maine, 2013-14 – present

Before being named the head coach of the Black Bears, Gendron was associate head coach at Yale University; the Bulldogs won the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championship. Prior to Gendron’s two seasons at Yale, from 2005-11, he was an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts.

Assistant Coaching Experience -

University of Maine, 1990-91 – 1992-93 (1993 National Champion)

New Jersey Devils (NHL), 1994-95 – 1995-96 (1995 Stanley Cup Champion)

Albany River Rats (AHL), 1996-97 – 1999-2000

UMass-Amherst, 2005-06 – 2010-11

Yale University, 2012-13 (2013 NCAA Division I Champions)

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