925

Dr. Alan Murdoch, Head Coach of Iowa State University's Men's Ice Hockey team, posted his 925th victory last Saturday with a 3-2 victory over Arizona State. This win ties Dr. Al with former Michigan State coach Ron Mason for the most wins in American College Hockey all time and he's accomplished this feat coaching the same team for forty years.
(http://www.iowastatedaily.com/articles/2008/11/08/sports/hockey/doc491541beb6d34397723194.txt)

In this age of big business sports, coaching forty years with the same team on any level is more than remarkable. I'm sure if Dr. Al wanted, he could have been a head coach at any of the more prominent NCAA ice hockey programs. Instead, he chose to stay with an ISU club team (www.cyclonehockey.com), founding the American College Hockey Association (ACHA, www.achahockey.com) and traveling the State of Iowa and the country helping to establish youth hockey nationwide under the control of USA Hockey (www.usahockey.com). Talk about loyalty to a cause. If such loyalty was a commodity, Dr. Al would be rich beyond his wildest dreams.

Since my youngest son started playing hockey about a year and a half ago, I've become a fan of amateur hockey. If you're in the Ames/Des Moines area, Come up to the Ames/ISU Ice Arena and check out a men's hockey game. The cost is $8.00 per adult. $6.00 per student and $4.00 per child under six; and the concessions are relatively cheap as well. You can't beat that entertainment deal with a ball bat. My cousin from the Chicago area, a Chicago hockey fan, took in a game while visiting and was impressed with the quality of play and the number of fans in attendance at the arena. If she can have fun there, so can you.

BTW, check out an amateur hockey game in your area. Whether it's youth, or college, you're guaranteed to have fun family entertainment.