The New Mexico Renegades are excited to announce the hiring of former Southern Oregon Spartans head coach Mike Stanaway in what has proved to be the biggest deal in the history of the Western States Hockey League, including the movement of 14 players between the two teams.
Stanaway, a native of Marquette, MI, joins the Renegades, taking over the head coaching title, after leading the Spartans to a 13-10 record in the Pacific Division midway through the season. Renegades co-head coaches Cliff Cook and John McCreary will remain with the team and work with Coach Stanaway as assistant coaches.
Coach Stanaway played college hockey at NCAA Div. III Finlandia University in Michigan. Prior to joining the Spartans in 2011, he was head coach of the Central Wisconsin Saints in the Great Lakes Hockey League. Stanaway will be heading to Rio Rancho with his wife Jennifer and their son Michael.
Along with the coaching change, the Renegades have made a major move to shakeup the lineup following a 10-game losing streak to finish out the first half of the season.
In what is thought to be the biggest trade in WSHL history, the Renegades have sent Dan Doyle, Mike Martelli, Wilhelm Brodin, Jordan Smith, Wyatt Watkins, Max Rasmussen and Zach Lovelace to Southern Oregon. In return, the Renegades will receive Tim Talty, Nick Stirmel, Robby Gervino, Nick DeSimone, Scott Dunham, Tyler Dunn and Lane King.
The Renegades found themselves in a great position after a five-game winning streak from Nov. 10-18, putting them just one point out of second place in the Mountain Division, but following their recent 10-game losing streak the Renegades found themselves in last place and a change was inevitable.
With the acquisition of Talty and Stirmel, the Renegades get the Spartans leading scorer in Talty and their fifth leading scorer in Stirmel. Talty has 33 points in 22 games. The Renegades have also added massive size, bringing in the 6’6”, 250 lb Dunn. Dunn will bring an obvious physical presence to the Renegades with his 114 PIMs in 13 games this season (a full list of player information for all those involved in the trade will be at the end of this release).
The new-look Renegades will start the second half of the season on the road January 11-13 against the Dallas Snipers in Plano, TX. The Renegades swept the Snipers at home Nov. 16-18 and look to get back on track to start the second half of the season and make a push towards WSHL playoffs.
For more information, log on to www.nmrenegades.com.