Mike Ayers (ice hockey)

Last updated
Mike Ayers
Born (1980-01-16) January 16, 1980 (age 41)
Hingham, Massachusetts, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Grand Rapids Griffins
Dayton Bombers
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Syracuse Crunch
Norfolk Admirals
Pensacola Ice Pilots
SønderjyskE Ishockey
Leksands IF
Charlotte Checkers
NHL Draft 177th overall, 2000
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2000–2008
Current position
TitleAssociate head coach
Team Boston College
Conference Hockey East
Biographical details
Alma mater University of New Hampshire
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2008–2009 Iowa Chops (goaltending)
2009–2011 St. Cloud State (goaltending)
2011–2013 USA U-18 (goaltending)
2013–2020 Boston College (assistant)
2020–Present Boston College (associate)

Michael Ayers is an American ice hockey coach and former goaltender who was an All-American for New Hampshire. [1]

Contents

Career

After graduating from Thayer Academy in 1998, Ayers spent another year playing prep school hockey before ending his junior career with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Despite playing for the worst team in the USHL that season, Ayers was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks after the year. [2] That fall, he began attending the University of New Hampshire and served as the team's third goaltender as a freshman. After Ty Conklin left in 2001, Ayers split time in goal with senior Matt Carney and helped the team finish atop the Hockey East standings. The two goalies were platooned through the Hockey East Tournament with Ayers in net for the Wildcats championship game victory. [3] UNH got the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament and Ayers got in goal for the team's semifinal match. Unfortunately, the team was outplayed by conference rival Maine and Ayers allowed 7 goals on 40 shots. [4]

For his junior season, Ayers took over as the primary netminder and produced his best season yet. He set program records for wins, save percentage and shutouts, leading the team to a second consecutive conference title. Ayers backstopped the Wildcats to a conference championship and the team earned the third overall seed. In his second postseason run, Ayers was a clutch player for UNH, allowing 4 goals through three games, and led the program to only its second championship game. Facing down defending champion Minnesota, Ayers turned aside 29 of 30 shots through 40 minutes and had the Wildcats tied with the Gophers. However, the wheels came off in the third. Ayers surrendered three goals in a just over five minute span and New Hampshire lost the game 1–5. Ayers did return for his senior season, but both he and the team declined. While he finished with respectable numbers, they weren't enough to get him back onto the All-American team. New Hampshire did receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season, but the team lost its opening match. While the ending was disappointing, Ayers did finish as the program's all-time wins leader (since broken).

After graduating with a degree in kinesiology, Ayers began playing professionally. He spent most of his first season in the ECHL and slowly worked his way up into the AHL. His numbers slid in his third season and he only saw limited minutes before finishing the season in Europe. He returned to the ECHL for one final season before ending his playing career in 2008.

Ayers began his second career after a short time off, becoming the goaltending coach for the Iowa Chops mid-season. He stayed with the team until the end of the year while pulling double-duty as a goaltending director for FHIT, a youth hockey organization in Minnesota. After leaving the Chops, Ayers founded his own goaltending academy, MVP Goaltending. He operated the business for just over two years. In the fall of 2009, he returned to the college ranks as an assistant for St. Cloud State. He attempted to hold three positions simultaneously, but left FHIT in November to focus on the newer positions. He remained an assistant coach and ran his goalie clinic until August 2011 when he joined USA Hockey full time as a goaltending coach. Among other duties, he served as an assistant on the US U-18 teams at the world championships in 2012 and 2013, winning a gold and silver medal respectively. [5]

In 2013, he was lured back to college hockey, this time as an assistant for Boston College under Jerry York. [6] Since then, he's helped develop two NHL goaltenders, Thatcher Demko and Spencer Knight. Prior to the 2020 season, Ayers was promoted to Associate Head coach, a position he continues to hold as of 2021. [7]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPWLTMINGA SO GAA SV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1997–98 Thayer Academy US-Prep—————————————————
1998–99 Trinity-Pawling School US-Prep—————————————————
1999–00 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 5516353318819603.69.904————————
2000–01 New Hampshire Hockey East 500026204.68.875————————
2001–02 New Hampshire Hockey East 20143111294602.44.915————————
2002–03 New Hampshire Hockey East 41278624999172.18.926————————
2003–04 New Hampshire Hockey East 3617145210110052.86.899————————
2004–05 Dayton Bombers ECHL 5115286293714202.90.913————————
2004–05 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 100019206.02.750————————
2004–05 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 21013001.45.952————————
2005–06 Dayton Bombers ECHL 25814214348203.43.894————————
2005–06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 23128112395532.66.919————————
2006–07 Norfolk Admirals AHL 200031203.86.913————————
2006–07 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 92614833203.98.892————————
2006–07 SønderjyskE Ishockey Oddset Ligaen 14——————2.98.90113—————2.10.928
2007–08 Leksands IF Allsvenskan 13————————————————
2007–08 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 21108111376413.38.896————————
NCAA totals1025825125,755239122.49.914————————
ECHL totals1063556105,99132013.20.903————————
AHL totals2813821,4136232.63.919————————

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-Hockey East Second Team 2001–02 [8]
All-Hockey East First Team 2002–03 [8]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2002–03 [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Chicago Blackhawks Draft Picks". Hockey Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  3. ↑ "New Hampshire 3, Maine 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  4. ↑ "Maine Hockey vs UNH 2002". YouTube. November 10, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Mike Ayers". Linked In. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ "BC Hockey Names Mike Ayers New Assistant Hockey Coach". SB Nation. May 30, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Mike Ayers". Boston College Eagles. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hockey East Goaltending Champion
2001–02 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Hockey East Player of the Year
2002–03
With: Ben Eaves 		Succeeded by
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