Massachusetts Hockey announced Tuesday the five newest members of the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame, including Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna.
The 2017 class will be joining a roster of past and current hockey greats recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the sport in Massachusetts. The members being inducted include Bertagna, Paul Hurley (player), Shawn McEachern (player), Bernie Michals (builder) and Paul Vincent (coach).
Bertagna is the longest serving hockey commissioner in the NCAA and has been working as a college administrator for over 35 years. While bringing an increased media attention to collegiate hockey in Massachusetts with numerous media contracts, he has brought together incredible high-profile events like the Friendship Four Tournament, Frozen Fenway and the women’s Hockey East championship. Bertagna also serves as the executive director of the American Hockey Coaches Association and serves on the Board of Directors for USA hockey and the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation.
Hurley played at Boston College from 1965 to 1969 and also on the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team.
McEachern played in the NHL and also for Team USA in the 1992 Olympics. He spent 13 years in the NHL, amassing 254 goals and 317 assists, and winning the Stanley Cup in 1992 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. While attending Boston University, he was a Hobey Baker finalist and an All-American, where he tallied 186 points in three seasons. He played his high school hockey at Matignon High School, where he led them to two state championships. Now, he serves as assistant director of athletics and is the varsity coach at The Rivers School and a youth hockey coach with the Boston Jr. Eagles program. He has served as an assistant coach at UMass Lowell, Northeastern, Salem State and with the East Coast Wizards youth program.
Michals is one of the founders in establishing the then Amateur Hockey Association Commonwealth of Massachusetts and serving the role of first vice president. One of his many accomplishments includes leading the charge to implement and certify the wearing of masks at all levels of youth hockey.
Vincent has spent over 35 years working with youth, collegiate and professional ice hockey players. He has won a Stanley Cup championship with the Chicago Blackhawks, an NCAA national championship with Rensselaer, a prep school championship with Cushing Academy and a high school championship with St. John’s Prep. He has developed high-end players like Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien, Adam Oates and Keith Yandle. Vincent spent 10 years as the skating and skills coach with Boston College from 1981 to 1991 and from 1981 to 1986, served as a consultant for RPI. He has also worked in a consultant role with Harvard, Northeastern, Providence, Brown, Dartmouth and Massachusetts. He has worked with teams in the NHL, the American Hockey League, ECHL, NCAA, and preparatory schools, including the Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils.
Also, the 2017 Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame inductee class will include four posthumous members of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame — John Garrison (Harvard), Bruce Mather (Dartmouth), Fred Moseley (Harvard) and Alfred “Ralph” Winsor (Harvard).
The ceremony and dinner will be held the evening of Saturday, June 17, 2017 at Hotel1620 in Plymouth, Mass., in conjunction with of the Massachusetts Hockey annual meeting.
