Jerry Sullivan (ice hockey)

Gerald B. "Jerry" Sullivan is a Canadian retired ice hockey Center and coach who was an All-American[1] and helped Michigan Tech win its first National Championship in 1962.

Jerry Sullivan
Born (1937-02-19) February 19, 1937 (age 87)
Noranda, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Center
Played for Michigan Tech
Green Bay Bobcats
HIFK
Marquette Iron Rangers
Playing career 1959–1966

Career

edit

Sullivan played four years of junior hockey for the Hamilton Tiger Cubs, finishing in the top three for team scoring in each season. After helping the club reach its best finish in 1958, Sullivan was recruited by John MacInnes and arrived in Houghton in the fall. After a year with the freshman team, Sullivan provided depth scoring for Michigan Tech as the team progressed all the way to the 1960 national championship but were stymied by Denver. While the team as a whole had a down year in 1961, Sullivan increased his scoring production, leading the team and setting up the Huskies for a huge year.

The 1961–62 season began poorly for MTU with the Huskies dropping their first two games. After that, however, the team bore down and nearly ran the table, winning 29 of their succeeding 30 games. Team captain Sullivan led the squad in both goals (30) and points (59), and was named to both the All-WCHA First Team and West All-American team. After helping Michigan Tech win the first singular WCHA tournament championship, Sullivan led the huskies to dominating wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson to capture the program's first national championship. Sullivan scored four points in the title game and was named to the All-Tournament Second Team.[2]

After graduating, Sullivan continued his playing career, playing a year with the Green Bay Bobcats before travelling to Finland and playing with HIFK for two years. He returned to the Bobcats in 1965 and returned to the Iron Range two years later as a player for the Marquette Iron Rangers. Sullivan stayed with Marquette for six seasons before retiring in 1973. In 1975 he made his head coaching debut with Marquette Senior High School and led the team for the next 19 years. In his time with the Redmen, Sullivan won two state championships (1977 and 1988) and finished as runner-up twice. He finished his career with a record of 312–158–13 (.659)[3] and was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.[4] He had previously been enshrined in the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.[5]

 
Jerry Sullivan 1963 (Hellas jenkki bubble gum series), pic 1 of 2
 
Jerry Sullivan 1963 (Hellas jenkki bubble gum series), pic 2 of 2, backside of the card

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1954–55 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 49 16 28 44 0
1955–56 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 48 19 36 55 0
1956–57 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 52 21 21 42 0
1957–58 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 52 33 34 67 0
1959–60 Michigan Tech WCHA 32 13 23 36 2
1960–61 Michigan Tech WCHA 29 22 25 47 0
1961–62 Michigan Tech WCHA 32 30 29 59 6
1962–63 Green Bay Bobcats USHL 27 29 56 16
1963–64 HIFK Qualification 6 3 4 7 2
1964–65 HIFK SM-sarja 18 20 5 25 8
1965–66 Green Bay Bobcats USHL 28 17 27 44 0
1966–67 Green Bay Bobcats USHL 16 9 15 24 8
1967–68 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL 32 33 65 6
1968–69 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL
1969–70 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL 21 28 49 6
1970–71 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL 36 39 75 12
1971–72 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL 27 25 52 12
1972–73 Marquette Iron Rangers USHL 41 31 26 57 8
OHA Totals 201 89 119 208
NCAA Totals 93 65 77 142 8

Awards and honors

edit
Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1960–61 [6]
All-WCHA First Team 1961–62 [6]
AHCA West All-American 1961–62 [1]
NCAA All-Tournament Second Team 1962 [7]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "1961-1962 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ^ "Coaching Records". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Inductee Class of 1998". Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "Gerald Sullivan". Michigan Tech Huskies. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
edit