John Harrington (ice hockey)

Last updated

John Harrington
Born (1957-05-24) May 24, 1957 (age 66)
Virginia, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for CHL
Oklahoma City Stars
Birmingham South Stars
Colorado Flames
AHL
Rochester Americans
NDA
HC Lugano
National teamFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Playing career 19791984
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1980 Lake Placid Team

John "Bah" Harrington (born May 24, 1957) is an American former ice hockey forward and is currently the head coach of the Minnesota State Mavericks women's ice hockey of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Contents

Playing career

Harrington was a stand-out high school hockey athlete for Virginia High School in Minnesota's hockey-rich Iron Range under head coach Dave Hendrickson. After Harrington's senior season at Virginia, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) assistant head coach Mike Sertich urged Harrington to try out for the hockey team. With Sertich's backing, Harrington won a walk-on spot on UMD's roster. He lettered for four seasons at UMD from 1975 to 1979.

Following his collegiate playing career, Harrington was invited to try out for the 1979–80 US National team coached by the Minnesota Golden Gophers' Herb Brooks. Harrington made every cut and was placed on the Olympic roster for the 1980 Lake Placid games. The team went on to defeat the highly favored Soviet Union 4–3 in the first game of the Medal Round in an event named the "Miracle on Ice". The team defeated Finland 4–2 two days later to capture the Gold Medal for the US. Harrington is credited with an assist on Mike Eruzione's go-ahead game-winning goal against the USSR.

Undrafted by the NHL, Harrington had a try-out with the Buffalo Sabres following the Olympics. The Sabres immediately assigned him to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, where he scored seven points in twelve games despite being a marked man. "Some Canadian-born kids resent the fact that the Americans did so well in the Olympics and they're a bit jealous of them," claimed Buffalo defenseman Larry Playfair. In one game Harrington was struck in the face and needed six stitches to close a bloody gash on his chin. In another game against the Hershey Bears Harrington was attacked from behind by Lou Franceschetti and knocked unconscious for five minutes, lying in a pool of blood on the ice. He had to spend the night in a hospital with a concussion, fractured jaw, broken nose and four loosened teeth. Franceshetti was not penalized, insisting it was a "clean" check. "My shoulder just connected with the back of his neck." "If it was a clean check, how did I get it in the back of my head?" asked Harrington. "Lying in my hospital bed, I had all sorts of mixed emotions, especially when my teeth ached and my heart throbbed. I kept thinking of the cleaner game in Europe, that I could have gone to Switzerland to play hockey. Something like this can't help but discourage you. But this is the way it is in the pros and I'll make it one way or the other ... even if I have to face a few goofballs." [1]

Harrington played the 1980–81 season for Lugano in the Swiss league before returning to the US to play with the US National team from 1981–83 on a full-time basis. He was a member of the United States team at the 1981, 1982 and 1983 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments. Between brief stints in the Central Hockey League, Harrington rejoined the national hockey team for the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Coaching career

Following 1984, Harrington retired from playing and rejoined his college roots as an assistant coach under former Montreal Canadiens star Ralph Backstrom at the University of Denver. The highlight of Harrington's time at Denver was 1985-86 when Denver won a school record 34 games and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four. In 1990 Harrington returned to Minnesota as an assistant coach for St. Cloud State University.

From 1993-2008, Harrington was the head hockey coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Harrington turned around a listless program at Saint John's. By his fourth season he had guided SJU to a school-record 26-6-1 mark, the school's first conference championship since 1950, the school's first conference playoff championship, the school's first NCAA tournament berth and an NCAA third-place victory. In 15 seasons at Saint John's he has a career record of 241-142-31 (.620). He has won five MIAC titles, four MIAC playoff championships and has advanced to the NCAA tournament five times. Harrington is the school leader in career wins. In addition to his coaching duties, Harrington was the assistant athletic director at Saint John's.

It was announced on March 31, 2008 that Harrington would step down as head coach at Saint John's to become head coach for HC Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss National League, his brief tenure lasting only until December 16. [2] On January 19, 2009 Harrington signed a contract as head coach for Slovenia men's national ice hockey team, [3] a position he held until December 12, 2010 when he was succeeded by Matjaž Kopitar. On May 11, 2009, Harrington signed a contract with HC Asiago, where he served as head coach until 2011. [4]

In May 2015, after serving four years as an amateur scout for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, Harrington was named the head coach of the Minnesota State Mavericks women's ice hockey of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).

In the movies

As part of the 1980 Olympic team, Harrington has been portrayed in movies twice, with the more recent being Disney's 2004 release Miracle. Harrington is portrayed by Nate Miller, who played hockey at the University of Minnesota from 1997-2000.

Prior to Miracle, Harrington was portrayed by Bill Schreiner in the 1981 made-for-TV movie Miracle on Ice.

Personal life

Harrington is married and has three children. He is the father of Chris Harrington, team captain and four-year letter winner on the Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team from 2002–06 and currently a DEG Metro Stars defenseman.

"Bah"

Among family, friends and those who knew him in his high school and college playing days, Harrington is known almost exclusively as "Bah". He earned the nickname from his older brother who was barely a year old when John was born. The brother couldn't enunciate the word baby and instead referred to his new sibling as "bah." The name stuck. The rest of his siblings have nicknames too, including "TP", "Tootie", and "Muggs."

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1974–75Virginia-Mountain Iron-Buhl HS-MN - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1975–76 University of Minnesota Duluth WCHA 369122114
1976–77 University of Minnesota DuluthWCHA27591416
1977–78 University of Minnesota DuluthWCHA312293120
1978–79 University of Minnesota DuluthWCHA4029437216
1978–79 Oklahoma City Stars CHL 50112
1979–80 American National Team Intl5114183214
1979–80 Rochester Americans AHL 12437831010
1980–81 HC Lugano SWI-2 2833185122
1982–83American National TeamIntl5127366338
1982–83 Birmingham South Stars CHL10000
1983–84 Colorado Flames CHL105510462352
WCHA totals134657313866

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1980 United States OLY 70552
1981 United States WC 10002
1982 United StatesWC60004
1983 United States WC-B 75611
1984 United StatesOLY60006
Senior totals2005514

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb Brooks</span> American ice hockey player and coach

Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' American team upset the heavily favored Soviet team in a match that came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle on Ice</span> Ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York

The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournament. Though the Soviet Union was a four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States upset them and won 4–3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Johnson (ice hockey)</span> Ice hockey player and coach

Mark Einar Johnson is an American ice hockey coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison women's ice hockey team. He is a former National Hockey League (NHL) player who appeared in 669 NHL regular season games between 1980 and 1990. He also played for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

William Conrad "Buzz" Schneider is an American former ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He was also a member of the US Olympic hockey team at the 1976 Winter Olympics.

Steven James Janaszak is an American former ice hockey goaltender who played three games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars and Colorado Rockies between 1980 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Ramsey (ice hockey)</span> American ice hockey player

Michael Allen Ramsey is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 1,070 regular season games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings between 1980 and 1997, after helping the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team win the Miracle On Ice and the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Eric Martin Strobel is an American former ice hockey forward who was a member of the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Cleary (ice hockey)</span> American ice hockey player, coach, and athletic administrator

William John Cleary Jr. is an American former ice hockey player, coach, and athletic administrator. He is an alumnus of Belmont Hill School, played on the United States men's national ice hockey team that won the gold medal in ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics, and was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.

Jack Parker is the former head coach of the Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. The 2012–13 hockey season was Parker's 40th and final season as head coach of the Terriers, and his 47th overall at the school as a player or coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey</span> Mens ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota

The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale. and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940. The Gophers are currently coached by Bob Motzko. Under Don Lucia the Gophers earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in eight seasons during a nine-year time span, including five number 1 seeds and three appearances in the Frozen Four. The team's main rivalries are with the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Dakota, although several other schools claim Minnesota as their archrival. For much of the team's history, there has been a strong emphasis on recruiting native Minnesotan high school and junior hockey players, as opposed to out-of-state, Canadian, or European players. This helped high school ice hockey grow in Minnesota, particularly starting with Hall of Famer John Mariucci, who refused to recruit players from Canada. Minnesota high school ice hockey programs grew from 26 in 1945 to over 150 in 1980. Head coach Doug Woog championed home-grown talent even more, only recruiting Minnesota players in the late 1980s and 1990s, but recent rosters have been more diversified.

Scott Alan Sandelin is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team. In 2011, he became the first coach in Bulldog history to lead them to a national title, in a 3–2 overtime game against the University of Michigan at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In the 2018 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a second national title, over Notre Dame 2–1, also played at the Xcel Energy Center. The following season, in the 2019 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a third national title. Sandelin grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, where he went on to be drafted in the second round by the Montreal Canadiens and play collegiate hockey for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team plays home games at the 6,800-seat AMSOIL Arena at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

Mike Sertich is an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of Minnesota-Duluth from 1983 through to 2000. He continued coaching for several years after resigning before retiring.

The Bulldogs men's golf team represented the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in the sport of golf from 1947–1991. Overshadowed by the school's hockey, football and basketball programs, constrained by parsimonious budgets, disadvantaged by a short spring season, and without athletic scholarships, the UMD golf program was, nonetheless, one of the most successful of the University's intercollegiate athletic programs during its existence. Perennially a conference champion threat with rosters composed of predominately Duluth area athletes, the golf team was one of the first UMD athletic programs to qualify for national championship play and gave the school its first two All-American First Team honorees. During the 45 years of the program, the Bulldogs finished first or second in conference 29 times. Thirteen teams qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament and seven were selected to play for the NCAA Division II title. The golf program had the distinction of representing the highest showing for a UMD team of any sport at a national event for 31 years and the highest individual finish for 25 years. Despite its achievements, the UMD golf program was eliminated for the 1991-92 school year, a casualty of athletic department budget cuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Murray (ice hockey)</span> American ice hockey player and coach

Sarah Murray is a Canadian-American ice hockey coach and the head coach of the women's ice hockey team of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) of the NCAA Division III. She served as head coach of the South Korean women's national ice hockey team during 2014 to 2018 and was the head coach of the Korean unified team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Ralph Romano was an ice hockey goaltender, head coach, and athletic director, all with the University of Minnesota–Duluth (UMD).

Gustave Hendrickson is an American former professional ice hockey player and head coach. He was in charge of the program at Minnesota–Duluth for seven seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season</span>

The 2017–18 Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Scott Sandelin and the team captain was Karson Kuhlman. The team won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Scott Perunovich, who was only the fourth defencemen to lead a championship team in scoring (Bob Heathcott, 1952; Dan Lodboa, 1970; Craig Norwich, 1977).

Robert Lakso is an American retired ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Minnesota Duluth.

Matthew Christensen is an American retired ice hockey center who was an All-American for Minnesota Duluth.

References