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'Toot'
Cahoon Hired as Hockey Coach
Don "Toot" Cahoon, who has headed the Princeton hockey program since 1991, has been hired to lead the Minuteman hockey team, athletic director Bob Marcum announced late Wednesday. Cahoon interviewed for the job on Tuesday and was offered the position. He will succeed Joe Mallen, whose contract was not renewed this year. In a statement released Wednesday, Chancellor David Scott said, "This appointment is an important and very visible one for our Athletic Department. Coach Cahoon will be able to build on the excellent foundation Coach Mallen put into place, starting the program from scratch seven years ago. We welcome Coach Cahoon and look forward with great anticipation to a bright future for our hockey program." A press conference to announce Cahoon's hiring was scheduled as the Chronicle was going to press. During his nine years at Princeton, Cahoon has compiled a 122-129-32 record. In 1997-98, he took the Tigers to the NCAA tournament, where team lost to eventual national champion Michigan. This past season, Princeton' record was 10-16-4, a sharp decline from their previous season record of 20-12-2. Cahoon was head coach at Norwich from 1979-82 and Lehigh University from 1973 to 1974, where the his team won the Mid Atlantic Conference title. His overall career record as a head coach is 170-157-31. He also served several stints as an assistant coach at Boston University (1974-79, '87-88 and '90-91) and at UMass Lowell from 1983-86. A native of Marblehead, Cahoon played hockey at Boston University from 1970-72 under coach Jack Kelley. BU won the NCAA championships in 1971 and 1972 -- the only team ever to win back-to-back national titles. As a player, Cahoon represented the United States at the 1972 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania, helping the national team to the silver medal. He signed a contract to play professional hockey with the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association after graduation. Cahoon also has international experience, directing the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation in 1982-83. The new coach is also familiar with the area, having played for the Springfield-based New England Blades of the Eastern Hockey League in 1972-73. Cahoon emerged as a strong candidate for the coaching slot after two other coaches, Dick Umile of the University of New Hampshire and Bob MacDonald of Niagara University, decided to stay with their current programs. Last season, the Minutemen finished 11-20-5 and were eliminated from the Hockey East playoffs after two losses to BU. In seven seasons under Mallen, the team compiled a record of 77-144-18. |
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