Three greats in men's college hockey - Bill Guerin, Ron Mason and Doug Weight - are among the 2013 inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, USA Hockey announced Thursday. That group joins former Providence College star Cindy Curley and Peter Karmanos Jr. in the class of 2013.
Hall of Fame Honorees | U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Announcement
Mason, who played at St. Lawrence, rose to legendary status as a coach at Lake Superior State, Bowling Green and Michigan State. Mason won 924 college games in 36 years and stood as the sport's winningest coach until Jerry York passed that mark last season.
Mason coached some tremendous players through the years, from Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee to Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller. A pioneer in the sport, he was the first coach at Lake Superior State and helped form the CCHA, which eventually named its playoff championship the Mason Cup.
"In the early days, there was no chance to go to the NHL from college," Mason said. "Now, college players are drafted and playing as well as anyone else."
Perfect Examples
Guerin and Weight were perfect examples of that NHL success. They spent the same two seasons in college - at Boston College and Lake Superior State, respectively, from 1989-91 - before going on to storied careers in the NHL and with USA Hockey internationally.
Guerin helped lead Boston College to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances while scoring 40 goals, including 26 as a sophomore. He helped teammate David Emma earn the Hobey Baker Award that season.
"The best choice of my young career was to go to Boston College," the current Pittsburgh Penguins executive told a group of prospects in April. "My experience of college hockey, of growing up, of all the social experiences that happen in college, were unbelievable. They're life-changing, in a positive way."
Weight scored 50 goals in his two seasons with the Lakers, including 29 goals and 75 points as a sophomore, when he was named first-team All-CCHA and second-team All-American.
"Lake Superior State will always be a special place to me," Weight said. "It was an amazing thing to be a part of ... I owe a lot to the experiences I had in college and I built on those."
The date and location for the 2013 induction ceremony will be announced later this summer.