Patrick Leahy led the Skyhawks to 21 wins and an appearance in the 2012 NE-10 Championship game in his two seasons as head coach. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Stonehill names David Borges interim head coach for 2013-14 season
EASTON, Mass. (October 28, 2013) – Stonehill College has accepted the resignation of ice hockey head coach Patrick Leahy for personal reasons. The announcement was made by Brendan J. Sullivan, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the College today.
Sullivan has also announced that Leahy's assistant coach David Borges will serve as interim head coach for the 2013-14 season, which opens on Saturday with at Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Southern New Hampshire University at 7:30 p.m.
"It is with great difficulty that I have had to make the decision to step down as head coach at Stonehill," said Leahy. "Some unforeseen circumstances have come up and I would not be able to give the College and the program the 100% needed to be as successful as we can be. When all is said and done, my family needs me to be around as much as possible right now. I want to thank Brendan Sullivan for giving me the opportunity two years ago to start my college coaching career and I also want to thank all of my current and past players for buying into what Stonehill hockey has become and what I know it will continue to strive to be."
Leahy quickly revitalized the ice hockey program at Stonehill, doubling its win total after just one year and increasing its wins each season at the helm. He led the Skyhawks to 21 wins overall in his two seasons, including a 12-8-2 (.591) clip in NE-10 play, qualifying for the NE-10 Tournament both years and reaching the NE-10 Championship game his first season. The Skyhawks ten victories in 2011-12 doubled their wins from the season before Leahy took over and the team posted 11 overall wins last season.
Leahy has coached six All-Northeast-10 Conference selections and produced six NE-10 All-Rookie Team picks over his two seasons, including 2011-12 NE-10 Rookie of the Year Chris Tasiopoulos. Leahy's teams have also produced in the classroom, with three NE-10 Academic All-Conference honorees, including recent graduate Dana Borges, who is a two-time NE-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence honoree and Capital One Academic All-American who was named the inaugural NE-10 Man of the Year. Borges, a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon, presented annually to the top American-born collegiate hockey player in New England playing at the Division II or III level, has also collected a pair of Academic All-District selections and signed a professional contract with Evry Peaux Rouges of France's second division.
"I would like to thank Patrick for his service to Stonehill and our ice hockey program over the past two seasons," said Sullivan. "While this is a difficult choice for him, I fully respect and support his decision. He has worked hard to improve our program over the past two years and I am grateful for all that he has done."
David Borges |
David Borges, father of recent Stonehill graduate Dana Borges, '13, will take over as interim head coach for the 2013-14 season. He comes to Stonehill after a 26 year coaching association with the boy's ice hockey team at Coyle & Cassidy High School in nearby Taunton, Mass., the last nine years as varsity head coach.
"David Borges is a talented and respected coach that possesses decades of coaching experience with many successful results," said Sullivan. "I was thrilled when he decided to join our staff as an assistant coach and I am grateful that he has accepted the position of interim head coach for the season. I have full confidence in his ability to lead our program and help our talented student-athletes reach their goals for the upcoming season."
Borges led the Warriors to a 121-50-8 (.698) record over his nine seasons as head coach, winning nine straight Eastern Athletic Conference championships and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) state tournament appearances. Coyle & Cassidy reached the MIAA quarterfinals seven of those nine years, reaching three South Sectional finals and winning the 2006 sectional championship to reach the state final. He is a three-time Taunton Daily Gazette Coach of the Year, earning the honors in 2008, 2011 and 2013. Borges was chosen to coach in the first ever Massachusetts High School Hockey All-Star Game in 2010 and also coached in the event in 2011.
Borges served as associate head coach at Coyle & Cassidy for nine years prior to taking over the helm in 2005 and was assistant coach for six years after one year as goaltenders coach in 1987. The Warriors won the 1995 Eastern Massachusetts Championship and reached the Massachusetts State Championship in his first year as associate head coach. Borges has also coached the U-14 Hanover Classics since 2008. He led the team to the 2010-11 Massachusetts Tier II State Championship and competed for the USA Hockey National Championship in Buffalo, N.Y.
"I would like wish Pat and his family the very best and would like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to serve as his assistant coach," said Borges. "I am excited about the opportunity and the challenge that I will have as the interim head coach of the men's ice hockey program. Stonehill is a great institution, a place where I feel we can attain both academic and athletic excellence."
Borges is a 1985 graduate of the University Massachusetts Lowell, earning a Bachelor's Degree in industrial engineering from its College of Engineering. He is also currently the vice president at Babs Foundry, Inc.
As mentioned above, Stonehill opens its season this Saturday with a Northeast-10 matchup at Southern New Hampshire at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks first home match is Thursday, November 7, against Plymouth State University at the Foxboro Sports Center at 6 p.m.