Westfield State Alumnus Peter Laviolette ’86 receives his MASCAC Hall of Fame plaque from current Owls coach Bob Miele. (WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Westfield State athletic Hall of Famer and longtime National Hockey League head coach Peter Laviolette ’86 was recently presented with his induction plaque as an inaugural member of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
Westfield State men’s hockey coach Bob Miele presented the award to Laviolette prior to the Owls’ MASCAC semifinal game at Plymouth State University in early March. Laviolette’s son, Peter, carries on the conference tradition as a forward for Plymouth State.
The senior Laviolette took advantage of a break in his schedule to attend the playoff game.
He most recently served as head coach of the Nashville Predators, leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 2017. Laviolette also took the Philadelphia Flyers to the Cup finals in 2010, and won Lord Stanley’s Cup as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
A longtime coach and player in the US Hockey ecosystem, Laviolette was named head coach of US Hockey’s 2020 World Championships team, which was set to compete in Switzerland in May, until the event was recently postponed by the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.
Laviolette was selected to the inaugural class of the MASCAC hall of fame in the “student athlete from a male team” category.
A defenseman at Westfield State, he currently ranks 14th in career scoring with 43 goals and 44 assists in the Owls’ record books. He was inducted into the Westfield State Hall of Fame in 2002. Laviolette signed with the Minnesota North Stars out of college, and played 11 years of professional hockey, with a short stretch with the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1988-89. He also competed as a member of the US Olympic team in 1988 and 1994.
After concluding his playing career, Laviolette began coaching first in the minors, winning the AHL’s coach of the year award in 1999, before the New York Islanders came calling in 2001. Laviolette has coached 17 seasons in the NHL, with a .604 winning percentage in more than 1000 games coached. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
