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University of New Hampshire Athletics
In Memory: UNH Legendary Head Coach Russell McCurdy
6/14/2024 1:36:00 PM | General, Women's Ice Hockey
DURHAM, N.H. – Russell McCurdy, 15-year head coach of the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team and nine-year head coach of the UNH women's tennis team, passed away June 7 following a period of failing health.
McCurdy, a 2002 inductee of the UNH Hall of Fame, guided the Wildcat women's ice hockey team to a 264-36-10 overall record for an .868 winning percentage in the first 15 seasons of the program's existence (1978-1992). New Hampshire lost only 10 times in 129 games on home ice for a .911 winning percentage (116-10-3).
The program went undefeated in the initial four seasons with a 72-0-1 record. In the first season, UNH won all 15 games and outscored the opponents by a 120-32 margin.
UNH won the EAIAW championship all four years of its existence (1980-83) and the 'Cats won four ECAC titles under McCurdy's direction.
A total of 13 women's hockey players coached by McCurdy have been inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame, and that included four in the Class of 1998.
Three of his Wildcats skated for Team USA at the 1998 Olympics, which was the first Olympiad that included women's hockey, and a total of eight 'Cats skated for Team USA at a World Championship. An additional Wildcat was a member of the Canadian Women's National Team.
On Dec. 10, 2006, the UNH athletic department held a Russell J. McCurdy Gallery dedication ceremony at the Whittemore Center. The gallery, located behind section 115 on the concourse, is a collection of UNH women's hockey team photos and headshots of the current team.
McCurdy, who was also an avid tennis player, coached the UNH's women's tennis team concurrently as the women's hockey team for the 1983-1991 seasons.
McCurdy was a 1962 graduate of Boston University who went on to play for the 1962-63 U.S. National Team. Before becoming a coach, he was in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, an investigator for the U.S. Civil Service Commission and a Foreign Service Reserve Officer with the U.S. Department of State.
His collegiate coaching career began in 1973 at Yale, and then he became UNH's first-ever women's hockey head coach for the 1977-78 season. McCurdy was named head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team in 1992 and led the squad to a silver medal at the World Championship.
McCurdy, a 2002 inductee of the UNH Hall of Fame, guided the Wildcat women's ice hockey team to a 264-36-10 overall record for an .868 winning percentage in the first 15 seasons of the program's existence (1978-1992). New Hampshire lost only 10 times in 129 games on home ice for a .911 winning percentage (116-10-3).
The program went undefeated in the initial four seasons with a 72-0-1 record. In the first season, UNH won all 15 games and outscored the opponents by a 120-32 margin.
UNH won the EAIAW championship all four years of its existence (1980-83) and the 'Cats won four ECAC titles under McCurdy's direction.
A total of 13 women's hockey players coached by McCurdy have been inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame, and that included four in the Class of 1998.
Three of his Wildcats skated for Team USA at the 1998 Olympics, which was the first Olympiad that included women's hockey, and a total of eight 'Cats skated for Team USA at a World Championship. An additional Wildcat was a member of the Canadian Women's National Team.
On Dec. 10, 2006, the UNH athletic department held a Russell J. McCurdy Gallery dedication ceremony at the Whittemore Center. The gallery, located behind section 115 on the concourse, is a collection of UNH women's hockey team photos and headshots of the current team.
McCurdy, who was also an avid tennis player, coached the UNH's women's tennis team concurrently as the women's hockey team for the 1983-1991 seasons.
McCurdy was a 1962 graduate of Boston University who went on to play for the 1962-63 U.S. National Team. Before becoming a coach, he was in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, an investigator for the U.S. Civil Service Commission and a Foreign Service Reserve Officer with the U.S. Department of State.
His collegiate coaching career began in 1973 at Yale, and then he became UNH's first-ever women's hockey head coach for the 1977-78 season. McCurdy was named head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team in 1992 and led the squad to a silver medal at the World Championship.
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