MSU hockey coach, Tom Anastos, steps down after another disappointing season
The team went 75-122-24 during his tenure.
After six seasons as head coach of the MSU hockey team, Tom Anastos has announced he will be stepping down.
The MSU hockey season ended in disappointment again last week when the Spartans fell to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. This was the fourth time in four seasons (the Big Ten formed in 2013) that MSU failed to make it to the second round of the tournament, and the first time the Spartans ranked last in the conference.
Despite having been hired on the promise of turning around MSU hockey with a “five year plan,” Anastos’ last two years were the most dismal. The team managed only 9 conference wins in the last two seasons combined, sad compared to the 14 conference wins the team enjoyed in Anastos’ first and best season as coach.
The team has announced that no decision has been made on Anastos’ replacement, though George Gwozdecky and Danton Cole would be logical candidates. Both were once apart of the organization, Gwozdecky as an assistant coach under Ron Mason and Cole as player in the 1980’s.
Anastos’s tenure with the team was the shortest since Harold Paulsen led the team for two seasons in the 1950’s. Michigan Tech Coach Mel Pearson acknowledged the short employment, saying “It’s becoming more like football and basketball to a certain degree. You’ve gotta win and you’ve gotta win now. Seems to be the way it is, especially at the high-profile places.”
MSU went 75-122-24 under Anastos.