Gene Ubriaco

Gene Ubriaco
Born	(1937-12-26) December 26, 1937 Sault St. Marie, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Chicago Black Hawks Oakland Seals Providence Reds (AHL) Pittsburgh Penguins Baltimore Clippers (AHL) Hershey Bears (AHL) Rochester Americans (AHL) Pittsburgh Hornets (AHL) New Westminster Royals (WHL)
Playing career	1958–1970

Eugene Stephen Ubriaco (born December 26, 1937 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is currently the Director of Hockey Operations for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL). As a player, Ubriaco played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Oakland Seals, and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League. In 1970, he returned to school to become a coach, which led to his returning to the NHL as the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988. He later moved to the Chicago Wolves as coach in 1994 and has remained with the organization ever since.

Hockey career

Ubriaco was originally Toronto Maple Leafs' property and played in their junior network with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. In 1958, Ubriaco started his professional career with the New Westminster Royals and played for Leafs' affiliates Rochester Americans and Pittsburgh Hornets. By 1962, Ubriaco wished to settle down with a team and start a family and asked for a trade from the Leafs. The Leafs accomodated his wish and he was traded to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Ubriaco was very successful with the Bears, with a personal-best season of 38 goals and 86 points in the 1965–66 season. When the 1967 NHL Expansion came, and a potential chance to play in the NHL came, the Bears were not NHL-affiliated and this meant that Ubriaco was not eligible for the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. Working for a broadcaster at the time, and covering the draft, Ubriaco learned that his only path to playing in the NHL was to hold out from the Bears. Ubriaco held out and was traded to the newly-formed Pittsburgh Penguins. Ubriaco played parts of two seasons before being traded to the Oakland Seals. He was traded again, one season later, to the Chicago Black Hawks. He retired after the 1969–70 season after having played 177 NHL games. Ubriaco recorded 39 goals and 35 assists for 74 career points.

Ubriaco turned to coaching and was in charge of the Lake Superior state hockey program by 1972–1973. After coaching in a number of leagues, Ubriaco was named Pittsburgh Penguins head coach in 1988, replacing Pierre Creamer. Ubriaco's 1988–1989 Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux's 85 goals and 199 points, as well as Rob Brown's 115 points, finished second in the Patrick Division and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. In the 1989 playoffs, the Penguins swept the New York Rangers before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games in the Patrick Division Final. Ubriaco's Penguins then got off to a slow start in the 1989–1990 season. Ubriaco as well as the man who hired him, Penguins general manager Tony Esposito, were both fired and replaced by Craig Patrick in December 1989.

Ubriaco coached the Italian Olympic ice hockey team during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. In 1994, Ubriaco became the first head coach of the new Chicago Wolves, then of the International Hockey League (IHL). He coached for two seasons including their inaugural season of 1994–95 before taking other positions with the club. He currently holds the positions of Senior Advisor and Director of Hockey Operations with the Wolves, now in the AHL.

On April 8, 2010, Ubriaco was part of the Mellon Arena final regular season game ceremony as one of five men in Penguins history to play for the Penguins and later coach them, sharing that distinction with Ken Schinkel, Lou Angotti, Rick Kehoe, and Ed Olczyk.

Awards

• 1973–74 - United States Hockey League Coach of the Year
• 1979–80 - Eastern Hockey League Coach of the Year
• 1982–83 - Jake Milford Trophy (Central Hockey League Coach of the Year)
• 1983–84 - Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award (American Hockey League Coach of the Year)

Source: hockeydb.com, Chicago Wolves

External links

• Chicago Wolves official website
• Gene Ubriaco biography at Legends of Hockey (archived)
• Gene Ubriaco career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database