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Icehawks Stan Drulia Named Coach Of The Year

April 2, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - Port Huron Icehawks Coach/General Manager Stan Drulia was named International Hockey League Coach of the Year for the 2008-09 season, the league announced Thursday. The award was selected by team coaches and general managers.

Behind the bench for the second season as coach of the Icehawks, Drulia has put together a tough, hard working roster that spent the majority of the season on top of the IHL standings. Currently in second place, they recently became the first team to clinch a berth in the Turner Cup Playoffs and remain in the hunt for the regular season championship. With six games remaining in the regular season, the Icehawks (41-20-6-3; 91 points) have tied their number of wins from last season and surpassed last season's total points.

Drulia has reached several coaching milestones this season. He earned his 200th win as a coach on January 30 and coached his 400th game on January 31.

"There is no greater advocate to the success of his players either individually or as a group than Stan Drulia," Icehawks Governor Frank Kinney said. "We are fortunate to have such a great coach and are appreciative of his tireless effort to further establish our franchise as the predominant team in the league."

Drulia is in his second season with the Icehawks and third in Port Huron. During their inaugural season, he led the Icehawks to the Turner Cup Finals and a dramatic game seven versus the Fort Wayne Komets. The Icehawks went 41-29-2-4 in the 2007-08 regular season and 7-5 in the playoffs, defeating the Flint Generals in the first round in five games.

"Stan treats all of his players with respect. He knows when to work us hard and when to give us a break," Icehawks Captain Tab Lardner said. "He knows the game extremely well from his days as a player and is very deserving of this award."

This playoff season will mark the fourth time that Drulia has led a team to the post-season in his seven-years coaching. In 2002, he launched his coaching career by capturing the Atlantic Coast Hockey League championship as the head coach of the Orlando Seals. He went on to coach the Augusta Lynx and Toledo Storm in the East Coast Hockey League from 2003-2006 before accepting the head coach position for the Port Huron Flags in 2006.

Drulia's professional career as a right winger spanned 13 years from 1989 to 2001 and included three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lighting of the National Hockey League and eight seasons in the old IHL. A native of Fort Erie, Ontario, Drulia lives in Port Huron with his wife Shar, daughter Shawn and son Trevor.

Drulia will be presented with the award prior to Saturday's home game versus the Flint Generals. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Icehawks three remaining home games are available now at the Icehawks office, McMorran Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations and www.ticketmaster.com. For more information call 810-966-3800 or visit www.porthuronicehawks.com.

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