Beyond 100

A few off the beaten path hockey stats and facts:

~Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins was the first player to record 100 points in the NHL - March 2, 1969.

~The Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 marked a major milestone for hockey. It was exactly 100 years ago that hockey was introduced at the London, 1908 Olympic Games.

~The speed of a puck hit by most players is about 100 MPH.

~The Canadiens were founded by J. Ambrose O'Brien on December 4, 1909 as a charter member of the National Hockey Association, 100 years ago.

~Wayne Gretzky scored 100 goals in the 1983-84 season. That is the most goals scored in one season, including playoffs.

~Frank Genovese recorded his 100th victory on January 15, 2009 as head coach of the Fermi Falcons against Avon High School. The final score was 5-3.

At the beginning of this season Frank explained to me that with a little luck and some excellent playing and coaching, he would be earning his 100th victory as head coach this year! I am not sure that he expected to do after so few games into the season, but he did!

Frank is an excellent coach. The parents, players, and fellow coaches all respect his style and how he treats the game in general. That not only includes his players and their families, but other teams, rinks, and styles. I can not think that there is another coach out there who puts as much effort into coaching a high school hockey team as he does. During the off season, he attends their league games in order to support their growth and development. During the season, he always has an open door, listed phone number policy for whomever wants to take him up on a talk.

At last weekends game, a parent of a graduated player was there. He was speaking with Frank's dad and what I heard made me proud. This father told Frank's dad that "Frank is fair, educated, and respectful. He has high expectations of everyone, including himself. He treats every player, no matter what skill level, like they are his favorite." That comes from years of hard work and lots of dedication.

Tyler and I are proud of you, Frank! We know that you work hard and we all make sacrifices during the season, but we know your love of the game and are willing to do it! We can't wait to see what the next 100 victories bring!