Scott Paluch knows Dennis Williams never stops working.
That’s why BG’s head hockey coach hired Williams in early July to replace former Assistant Coach Doug Schueller.
Schueller became the head coach at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. on May 16. Williams soon made a move for the vacant position when he spoke to Paluch in June.
He was then hired from a pool of more than 30 applicants, according to Paluch.
Williams is still so green on the job (he started July 15) that he hasn’t been able to see much of his new team.
He only briefly met the team this past weekend when they moved onto campus, so he said he has not yet formed judgments about what this team is capable of on the ice in 2008-09.
But he’s excited to find out.
‘I’m looking forward to meeting them more in-depth than just saying ‘Hey what’s going on?” Williams said. ‘I’ve watched some game film of them from last year, but I’ve yet to watch them in real life.’
Once he does, it shouldn’t take him long to remember how the BG hockey team is managed.
The Stratford, Ont. Native played as a BG forward from 1997 to 2001, when he racked up nearly ten times as many penalty minutes (198) as points (20) in 117 games.
‘I was hard-working, but never scored a ton of goals by any means,’ Williams said. ‘I was that high energy type of player who would go out and bang, keep the puck down low to protect it and give that little bit of life to the game that we needed.’
He served as Paluch’s first graduate assistant at BG in 2002 before taking various coaching positions at Utica College, Neumann College in Aston, Pa., and most recently at Alabama-Huntsville.
‘His familiarity with our school makes it a lot easier,’ Paluch said, especially with the season quickly approaching. ‘His work ethic has made the transition very smooth, and we’re feeling very good about our staff.’
Williams said he’s already enjoying his time back in BG.
‘I consider this home to me,’ Williams said. ‘I’ve spent more time in this town in the last ten years than I’ve spent in my own hometown.’
Paluch noted Williams’ winning experience as a head coach at Neumann, where he held a record of 35-32-8 in three seasons, will help him easily take on daily coaching tasks.
‘A big part of his responsibilities will be the everyday practice and game-day coaching, as well as recruiting,’ Paluch said. ‘He’s just very comfortable on the bench and we’re happy to have him back.’
