Pirates Head Coach Tom Rowe Named Florida Panthers Associate General Manager

Published on January 1, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, ME - Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that Portland Pirates Head Coach Tom Rowe has been named the Associate General Manager with the Panthers.

In conjunction with this move, Portland Pirates General Manager Eric Joyce announced that Scott Allen will be the Pirates' new Head Coach. He will be assisted on the bench in the team's upcoming games by Pirates Goalie Coach Pierre Groulx. A search has commenced for a new full-time assistant coach.

Rowe, a 59 year-old native of Lynn, Massachusetts, joined the Panthers organization on November 8, 2013, when he was named the Head Coach of Florida's previous AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.

Rowe became the eighth Head Coach in Portland Pirates history on July 1, when the Panthers affiliation with the Pirates took effect. In 29 games before his promotion, he guided the Pirates to a 16-12-1-0 record.

The Pirates were the fourth AHL team that Rowe served as a Head Coach. Over parts of seven seasons, Rowe also coached the Lowell Lock Monsters (2004-06), the Albany River Rats (2006-08), and San Antonio (2013-15), compiling a record of 243-196-25-26, good for a 0.548 career winning percentage.

Over his coaching career, Rowe has also worked as an Assistant Coach with the Lock Monsters and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, as well as a Head Coach with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

Allen, a 49 year-old New Bedford, Massachusetts native, began his Head Coaching duties last night with the Pirates 4-3 victory over the Providence Bruins at Cross Insurance Arena. He joined the Panthers organization at the start of the 2014-15 season as the Assistant Coach with the San Antonio Rampage. He also moved on to the Pirates with the new affiliation before this season began.

This is the third time in Allen's coaching career that he will take over an AHL team during the season. In both the 2001-02 and the 2002-03 season, Allen guided the Rampage to a 28-45-2-8 mark in 83 games.

Allen has also served as an AHL Assistant Coach with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, the Quad City Flames, Peoria Rivermen, and Chicago Wolves. He has also spent time as both an Assistant and Head Coach with the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs and as an Assistant Coach with the NHL's New York Islanders.

Groulx, a native of Ridgeway, Ontario, is in his first season as the Portland Pirates Goalie Coach. He began his second stint with the Florida Panthers organization this season after serving as Florida's Goalie Coach from 2005-09. After that, Groulx moved on to become the Goalie Coach of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens from 2009-13.

The Pirates return to action tomorrow night as they host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the first of two games at Cross Insurance Arena! It's Pirates and Princesses Night! Anyone dressing as a Pirate or a Princess for the game can get $5 off of a Main Deck Ticket from the Trusted Choice Box Office at Cross Insurance Arena. Game time is 7:00 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The Pirates will host their second LL Bean Postgame Skate of the season after the game. To get your tickets, call 207-PIRATES or visit portlandpirates.com.

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