U of C Dinos men's hockey coach Mark Howell inching closer to all-time wins record

Over Mark Howell’s 16 seasons behind the bench of the University of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team, he’s won 245 games, but his next one will be one of his biggest.

If the Dinos beat the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday night, Howell will surpass the legendary George Kingston as the winningest coach in the program’s history with 246 wins.

Howell still can’t believe he’s right up there with Kingston.

“You know George, I’ve gotten to know really well and have the utmost respect for him,” Howell said.

“I think the world of him, and he’s still to this day very articulate and intelligent about the game and follows us daily and weekly. To be in the same breath as him is almost surreal.”

Obviously, when you win that many games, you’re doing something right. Goaltender Carl Tetachuk says the team really wants to get that win for Howell.

“That would mean a lot to him and to our team,” he said.

“It’s well deserved for him. He’s put a lot of hours and a lot of work into this program for a lot of years and it would be really cool to see, and he deserves it.”

'A great leader'

Captain Noah King has been with the Dino’s for four seasons. He says Howell has the ability to push all of the right buttons to get the most out of his team.

“I think he has a strong personality and he’s a great leader,” said King.

“I think we all buy into what’s being presented to us and it’s worked out the last couple of years here. You always want great leadership in your coach and he has that.”

Howell knows he couldn’t have racked up so many wins without having great players over the years.

And it looks like that win total will keep on growing because Howell isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon.

“Every week you get excited, and you get excited about the next opponent and you get excited about winning a series,” he said.

“You get excited about what it’s going to take to be a championship-calibre team, and you know if that passion still wasn’t here, it would be hard to catch George. But I’m still passionate about what I do and love doing it.”

Puck drop for the Dinos and Bisons game on Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Father David Bauer Arena. The same two teams face each other Saturday night in Calgary with puck drop at 6 p.m.