The Boston Bruins have a long and celebrated history of some of hockey’s best coaches, so for current head coach Claude Julien to recently surpass Don Cherry to be ranked third overall in wins is quite an accomplishment.
Right here on the Hilltop, Men’s Hockey Coach Ed Seney has also reached a milestone this season as he has earned his 150th win for the Hawks. Seney was hired in 2002 and is currently in his 11th season for the Hawks, over which time he has found a great deal of success.
Seney has won the NE-10 Coach of the Year three times, the NE-10 Conference Championship five times, and during the 2003-04 season coached the Hawks to a impressive 20-7 record and earned the ECAC Coach of the Year and New England Sportswriters Coach of the Year.
Seney’s winning tradition dates back far further than his tenure at Saint Anselm. Seney has served several years as an assistant coach at various schools before he was given the head coaching job at SUNY Potsdam in 1988. He stayed on for 14 seasons and holds the school record for wins. In 2007, he was inducted to the SUNY Potsdam Athletic Hall of Fame.
“This is my 25th year as a head coach,” said Seney. “It feels good to have that success, but coaches don’t keep track of those sorts of things like personal records. My focus has always been more about the success of the program and reaching the team goals.”
Seney might not be focusing on his personal achievements, but it has not eluded the attention of the rest of the Hilltop. The Hawks are enjoying a strong season with an 11-8-2 overall record and have gotten production throughout their lineup.
“We’ve developed a culture of hard work both on and off the ice, and the competitive nature of the players we’ve had over the years have led to that success,” said Seney. He also attributed winning the NE-10 the last 3 years in a row to a strong group of players and a good schedule.
Any head coach in sports relies on their assistant, and Coach Seney didn’t hesitate to recognize his assistant Mike Curtis. Curtis has been on board for five years and has been instrumental in bringing in skilled players to the program and developing them into the system. Seney is also proud that of the 28 players on their roster, 11 of them made Dean’s list in the Fall semester.
Going forward, Seney wants his team to win out the season and continue their past success in the NE-10 and ECAC championships. With the very successful program and the strong coaching staff, the Hawks can be confident that there will be many more milestones in Coach Seney’s career.