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McDonald Named Scorpions Coach

December 16, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
New Mexico Scorpions News Release


ALBUQUERQUE – WD Sports, the parent company of the Central Hockey League's New Mexico Scorpions, announced two personnel moves today. Pat Dunn, who had been the Scorpions' head coach this season, is the new Vice President/General Manager of the Corpus Christi IceRays. Bill McDonald has been named Head Coach/Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations of the Scorpions. Both moves are effective immediately. McDonald, 49, becomes the sixth coach in Scorpions history after spending the past two-plus seasons with the CHL's Lubbock Cotton Kings. McDonald posted a record of 81-52-23 in 156 games with the Cotton Kings, including a trip to the 2001 President's Cup Finals in the Western Professional Hockey League. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native has won four championships and been to the finals twice more in his 12-year coaching career. That career also includes a stint as an assistant coach for the Dallas Stars during the 1999-2000 season. McDonald also served as head coach of the Stars' top affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League from 1998 to 2000. "We're thrilled to have Bill McDonald join our organization," said W.D. Sports and Scorpions President W.D. "Doug" Frank. "Bill comes to us with a wealth of experience and history of winning teams. While the timing of these moves is not what we would prefer as an organization, the situation in Corpus Christi necessitated that we fill the role there as soon as possible. With Pat's previous tenure in Corpus Christi combined with his experience here, we believe that he is the best person for the job. Doing what's best for the New Mexico Scorpions franchise, our fans and the city of Albuquerque was an absolute priority, and that is why we felt if we were going to change the coaching position here, we were going to fill it with a top-notch candidate. With his experience not only in the CHL and WPHL but also the IHL and NHL, Bill McDonald fills that role perfectly for New Mexico. We feel this is a win-win situation for both New Mexico and Corpus Christi." "I have known Bill for a number of years, and find him to be one of the most knowledgeable hockey men in our business," said Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Ken Hitchcock, who was coach of the Dallas Stars while McDonald was with the Stars organization. "He has a great rapport with his players and the community, and his preparation and attention to detail is unmatched. I wish him much success with the New Mexico Scorpions and know he will do an outstanding job."

"Having followed Bill's career for a number of years, we are very confident the New Mexico Scorpions have obtained a tremendous hockey mind in Bill McDonald," said Les Jackson, Dallas' Director of Hockey Operations. "We wish both the Scorpions and Bill continued success with the remainder of the season." During his career, McDonald has a career regular season winning percentage of .586 (392-265-79 in 736 contests) and a .630 playoff winning percentage (58-34). He has been named his league's Coach of the Year on three occasions (92-93, 96-97 and 97-98). McDonald will make his debut behind the bench for the Scorpions when they host the Amarillo Gorillas on Thursday, Dec. 19. Faceoff is 7:05 p.m. at Tingley Coliseum. Tickets marked for Saturday will be honored at the door. Please note that Thursday's game was originally scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 21. The game can be heard on SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal beginning at 6:50 p.m. with the Voice of the Scorpions Mike Sheehan. Scorpions season tickets start as low as $105 and are available NOW by calling the team office at (505) 881-PUCK (7825). Individual game tickets are also on sale NOW and available at the Scorpions Team Store and all TicketMaster locations, including selected Smith's Food and Drug Centers, Foley's, Merlin's Disc Jockey, on the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com and charge-by-phone by calling 883-7800. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill McDonald Head Coach/Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations Bill McDonald was named Head Coach/Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the New Mexico Scorpions on December 16, 2002. A 49 year-old native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, McDonald has won four championships and been to the league finals twice more in his 12-year professional coaching career. In addition, he served as Assistant Coach for the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars during the 1999-2000 season as the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals. He was also head coach of the Stars' top affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League, from 1998 to 2000. McDonald began his coaching career in his hometown of Thunder Bay, coaching the city's Colonial Hockey League entrant for four seasons, winning the league championship in his first season in 1992 before winning back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. He spent two seasons in an initial tour of the Central Hockey League with the Fort Worth Fire from 1995 to 1997, winning the Ray Miron Cup as league champions in 1997. After taking the Fort Worth Brahmas of the Western Professional Hockey League to the President's Cup finals in 1998, he joined the Stars organization. In 2000, McDonald moved to the Lubbock Cotton Kings and took them to the President's Cup finals in his first season. McDonald has a career record of 392-265-79 in 736 career games behind the bench, a career winning percentage of .586. His teams have missed the playoffs just twice and he has been named his league's Coach of the Year three times (92-93 in the Colonial Hockey League, 96-97 in the CHL and 97-98 in the WPHL).



Central Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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