Jim Culhane

Jim Culhane (born March 13, 1965) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Hartford Whalers. Culhane coached the Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team from 1999 to 2010.

For the American Olympic gymnast, see Jim Culhane Jr.
Jim Culhane
Biographical details
Born (1965-03-13) March 13, 1965
Haileybury, Ontario
Playing career
1983–1987Western Michigan
1987–1989Binghamton Whalers
1989–1990Hartford Whalers
1990–1991Capital District Islanders
1990–1991Kansas City Blades
1991–1992Capital District Islanders
Position(s)Defenceman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999–2010Western Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall158–222–48 (.425)

Career

Culhane played at Western Michigan during one of the most successful periods in program history. After graduating in 1987 he embarked on a short professional career, before retiring in 1992. In 1993 he returned to his alma mater and served as an assistant under Bill Wilkinson until the latter was fired in the midst of an investigation into the program after two players were arrested at a team party.[1]

For a brief time Culhane was able to right the ship in Kalamazoo but once Wilkinson's last recruiting class left the team sunk towards the bottom of the conference and never had a winning record under Culhane's stewardship again. Over the course of his 11 full seasons Culhane could only get the Broncos out of the CCHA first round only twice and lost all four quarterfinal games his team played in. Western Michigan announced that they were firing Culhane in February 2010 but allowed the coach to finish out the season.[2]

Career Statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84Western Michigan BroncosCCHA421141588—————
1984–85Western Michigan BroncosCCHA37281084—————
1985–86Western Michigan BroncosCCHA401212261—————
1986–87Western Michigan BroncosCCHA4392433163—————
1987–88Binghamton WhalersAHL765172216940008
1988–89Binghamton WhalersAHL7261117200—————
1989–90Binghamton WhalersAHL736111769—————
1989–90Hartford WhalersNHL60116—————
1990–91Capital District IslandersAHL1500014—————
1990–91Kansas City BladesIHL5918950—————
1991–92Capital District IslandersAHL3713458—————
NHL totals 6 0 1 1 6 — — — — —

Head Coaching Record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Western Michigan Broncos (CCHA) (1999–2010)
1998–99 Western Michigan 3–4–2†3–4–2†10th†
1999–00 Western Michigan 12–21–310–15–3T–9thCCHA First Round
2000–01 Western Michigan 20–13–612–10–6T–5thCCHA First Round
2001–02 Western Michigan 19–15–413–12–36thCCHA First Round
2002–03 Western Michigan 15–21–213–14–1T–8thCCHA First Round
2003–04 Western Michigan 17–18–412–13–38thCCHA First Round
2004–05 Western Michigan 14–21–28–18–2T–10thCCHA First Round
2005–06 Western Michigan 10–24–67–16–511thCCHA Quarterfinals
2006–07 Western Michigan 18–18–114–13–16thCCHA First Round
2007–08 Western Michigan 8–27–34–22–212thCCHA First Round
2008–09 Western Michigan 14–20–79–13–6–2T–7thCCHA Quarterfinals
2009–10 Western Michigan 8–20–84–17–7–212thCCHA First Round
Western Michigan: 158–222–48109–167–32
Total:158–222–48

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

† Culhane replaced Bill Wilkinson in February 1999[1]

References
  1. "WMU Fires Head Coach Wilkinson". USCHO.com. February 3, 1999. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  2. "Culhane Out as Western Michigan Coach After Season". USCHO.com. February 18, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
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