Bes Named Coach of the Year
April 3, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi Surge News Release
Jeff Bes has made quite an impression starting his career as a head coach. The first year bench boss of the Mississippi Surge has earned the honor of the Southern Professional Hockey League's SBK Coach of the Year.
Bes, who took over the reins of the team in mid-August, led the Surge to its third straight winning record at 29-24-3. That was in spite of a short recruiting period.
Voting for the SPHL Coach of the Year is conducted among league coaches and media members. According to an SPHL league release, it was a close vote with Bes nudging out Jerome Bechard of Columbus and Brad Ralph of Augusta.
"It's nice to be recognized by your peers, but this is really a tribute to our players," Bes said. "They're the ones that bought into the system and saw their hard work pay off."
The Surge went on a late season tear, wining seven of eight games at one point and qualifying for the playoffs for the third straight season.
Bes becomes the third Surge representative to garner an SPHL award this season. Defenseman James Isaacs and goaltender Kiefer Smiley were named to the all-rookie team,. Smiley was also named co-Rookie of the Year, and the second team all-SPHL goaltender.
Season tickets for the 2012-13 Surge season are available by calling the Surge at 228-287-PUCK (7825).
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- Surge's Jeff Bes Named SBK Coach of the Year - SPHL
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