BY WALLY SHAVER

Northeastern University’s longest-tenured men’s hockey coach, Fernie Flaman, was named the 2012 Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey Flaman accrued a program-best 255 victories in 19 seasons (1970-89) and lead the Huskies to all four Beanpot championships the school has won (1980, ’84, ’85, ’88).

Since 1981, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation has honored a “Legend of Hockey” along with the Hobey Baker winner annually at the Hobey Baker Award banquet. The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation regards the “Legend of Hockey” award winners as an “outstanding group of individuals who have each left their own valuable trademark on the collegiate game. They have led the way in all aspects of the game from playing to coaching and even creating the rules.”

In addition to Flaman’s four Beanpot titles in the 1980s, he led Northeastern to an ECAC Championship (1982), a Hockey East championship (1988) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (1982 and 1988). Flaman’s 1981-82 club set the program record for wins in a season (25) which was recently matched in 2008-09. In 1982, the American Hockey Coaches—Association named Flaman national coach of the year. Flaman also coached current Northeastern head coach, Jim Madigan, from 1981 to 1985.

“Coach Flaman not only showed us how to develop into great players, but he coached us up in life and developed us into men,” Madigan said. “He is not only a Northeastern legend, but a legend of the game.”

Prior to his extensive coaching career, Flaman was well known to Boston hockey fans as a rugged defenseman from Dysart, Saskatchewan. He was signed by the Boston Bruins in 1943 and played three years for the minor-league Boston Olympians before making the NHL in 1947.

Flaman played five years for the Bruins before being traded to Toronto where he won the Stanley Cup in his first season with the Maple Leafs in 1951. After three more years in Toronto, he was back with the Bruins in 1954, playing another seven seasons. Flaman was named the Bruins captain in 1955 and wore the ‘C’ for the duration of his career. In 15 NHL seasons, Flaman was a Second Team All-Star three times.

Flaman finished his NHL career with 34 goals and 174 assists for 208 points in 910 games, and added 1,370 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement, he was third in NHL history in career penalty minutes.

In 1961, Flaman became player-coach with the Bmins top farm club in Providence, a dual role he held for three years. He followed that up with four more years coaching in the minor pros before beginning his extensive collegiate coaching career with Northeastern in 1970.

Flaman has been inducted into three Halls of Fame: the Northeastern Hockey Hall of Fame (1989), the Hockey Hall of Fame (1990) and the Massachusetts Hall of Fame (2011).

As a Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey, Flaman joins the ranks of noteworthy names in hockey such as John “Snooks” Kelly, Herb Gallagher, Bill Cleary, Jack Kelley, Len Ceglarski, Lou Lamoriello, Ralph “Cooney” Wetland and last year’s winner, Herb Brooks.