A couple of key New England-area college assistant coaches are moving on to the pro ranks with the recent announcements from the Hershey Bears of the AHL and Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Steve Bergin and Ben Guite bring a wealth of coaching experience with them to their new positions. Guite steps into his first...
A couple of key New England-area college assistant coaches are moving on to the pro ranks with the recent announcements from the Hershey Bears of the AHL and Maine Mariners of the ECHL.
Steve Bergin and Ben Guite bring a wealth of coaching experience with them to their new positions.
Guite steps into his first position as a head coach, while Bergin will be an assistant in the league directly below the NHL as the affiliate club of the Washington Capitals.
Bergin off to AHL
After just one season as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart, Steve Bergin is leaving the Pioneers to become an assistant coach in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. The Groton, Mass., native had previously coached in the ECHL, winning that league’s Coach of the Year award in 2019-20 while behind the bench for the South Carolina Stingrays.
Bergin, 33, played prep hockey at Lawrence Academy before skating collegiately for UConn. He had a five-year minor pro career before embarking on his coaching journey. Sacred Heart head coach CJ Marottolo is once again looking for a new assistant coach. Longtime assistant coach Scott McDougall has been the one constant on the staff.
Guite staying in the Pine Tree State
As had long been rumored, former Maine player, associate head coach, and interim head coach Ben Guite was announced as the bench boss of the Maine Mariners, the new ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins.
For Guite, 43, the Mariners will be his first foray into the pro coaching world. He’s no rookie when it comes to pro hockey, playing in 184 NHL games and over 600 in the minors. Guite had an impressive playing career for the Black Bears and had spent the past eight seasons on the late Red Gendron’s staff in Orono.
Guite is a good hire for the Bruins organization as he’s one of the most well-liked people in the game and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the players he’ll be mentoring. It will allow Guite to stay in the state of Maine and not uproot his family after a tumultuous spring with the untimely passing of his boss and a hiring process that saw him ultimately fall short of getting the job.
