Rooting interest
Pawtucket native had chance to work with both Sullivan, Laviolette with Bruins
R.I. native and Boston Bruins’ radio play-by-play man Dave Goucher, here holding the AHL’s Calder Cup Trophy with then-PB’s coach Peter Laviolette, far left, is familiar with both coaches vying for the Stanley Cup — Laviolette with Nashville and Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan, a former Boston coach.
Two names involved in this year’s Stanley Cup finals that begin on Monday night were on the lips of Boston Bruins radio play-by-play man and Pawtucket native Dave Goucher when reached over the weekend.
Specifically, these two names who Goucher has a professional and personal respect for just so happen to be the bench bosses of the last two teams left standing following an 82-game regular-season gauntlet and three grueling rounds of playoff intensity. Enough pregame meetings have been conducted and plenty of bus and plane rides shared with Peter Laviolette (Nashville) and Mike Sullivan (Pittsburgh) for Goucher to understand what makes each head coach tick.
“What pleases me the most is that they’re good people and you like to see good people succeed,” Goucher said. “Taking the X’s and O’s part away, you enjoy their company off the ice. The fact that they’re both Massachusetts guys with ties to the Bruins’ organization makes it all the better.”
Laviolette, last week, earned the distinction as the fourth head coach in NHL history to lead three different teams to the Cup finals. His accomplishment as the on-ice overseer with the Predators follows a Stanley Cup victory with Carolina in 2006 and a finalist appearance with Philadelphia in 2010.
The Laviolette who Goucher got to know could be filed under the category of somewhat ancient history. Goucher was calling games on the radio in the mid-1990s for the Providence Bruins when Laviolette was winding down his playing career with the club as a defenseman and later a player/assistant coach.
What struck Goucher was the confident fashion Laviolette portrayed during his introductory press conference upon being named head coach of the PBruins in 1998. The AHL club was coming off a last-place 19-win season. Goucher recalls Laviolette not being consumed by the situation he was inheriting.
“That press conference … he talked about winning a Calder Cup. I remember thinking to myself, ‘This doesn’t sound normal. Is he aware of what happened last year?’ Peter wasn’t a part of that and wanted to set the bar real high right off the bat. What he was saying is that we expect to have success here,” Goucher said.
As it turns out, instant success was achieved. With Laviolette at the helm, the P-Bruins won a still-franchise record 56 games and rode that momentum all the way to the 1999 Calder Cup finals. As the team’s radio broadcaster, Goucher enjoyed a front-row seat to the unprecedented turnaround. Eventually, their respective talents enabled both to outgrow their minor-league hockey britches.
“The two of us were trying to find our way, seeing if we could advance our careers,” Goucher said.
Things recently came full circle for Goucher and Laviolette. Goucher drew the assignment of calling the Western Conference finals for Westwood One radio, meaning he got to spend extensive time in the company of Laviolette. Before Game 5 in Anaheim, Goucher listened to Laviolette as he fielded pregame questions about Nashville circling the wagons after losing captain Mike Fisher and star center Ryan Johansen to injuries.
Laviolette’s response to the Predators’ injury woes transported Goucher back to the spring of 1999 when the P-Bruins climbed the top of the AHL mountain.
“Peter really didn’t want to address the injuries, but it was more psychological to get the point across that we can’t dwell on who we don’t have in our lineup. The focus has to be on who we do have and the task in front of us,” Goucher said. “To motivate and push the right buttons and to pull the best out of his players … a lot of teams deal with injuries but can’t overcome them. They’re not able to find a way. For that Nashville team, under Peter, they’ve been able to do that. Now they’re sitting four wins away from the Stanley Cup.”
As a player, Sullivan earned his ice time as a hard-working third- or fourthline guy and penalty killer. Goucher, who’s been at the radio helm for the Bruins since 2000 and was three years behind Sullivan at Boston University, came to know Sullivan “as a cerebral guy” during the two years Sullivan spent as Boston’s head coach.
The Bruins under Sullivan registered 104 points in 2004 yet failed to get out of the first round. Boston was ill-prepared after a lockout wiped out the NHL’s 2004-05 season and slumped to a 29-37-16 record in 2005-06. That led to the B’s moving on from Sullivan, who waited almost a decade before once more becoming a NHL head coach with the Penguins.
“Things were out of Mike’s hands after the lockout. I didn’t think he got a fair shake that second year but it led to the Bruins making a change,” Goucher said. “He’s a pretty low-key, down-toearth guy, but he’s also got a dry sense of humor. If you’re not paying attention, you may not catch the joke.
“You always hope that quality people like Mike get another chance to be a head coach,” Goucher said. “I don’t know if anyone thought it would take nearly 10 years, but that’s how the path unfolded for him.”
There’s a lot more to coaching than simply letting an all-world talent like Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby do his thing. The fact that the Penguins find themselves in prime position to defend last year’s Stanley Cup triumph is a major feather in Sullivan’s cap, Goucher feels.
“His hockey IQ is off the charts,” Goucher said.
In the eyes of Goucher, Laviolette and Sullivan are cut from the same coaching cloth. Given the history he has with both, it’s best to take Goucher at face value.
“If you’re going to be successful at anything you do, you have to have that inner drive and passion to want to do it at a high level. Peter and Mike have that,” Goucher said. “I’m happy for both of them.”