Augustine has been coaching at URI since 1989. PHOTO CREDIT: Connor Zisk
The University of Rhode Island’s men’s club hockey head coach, Joe Agustine, won his 700th career game win in the quarterfinals when the team took on Drexel University in Scranton, Pennsylvania on March 3rd.
Augustine has extensive experience with the sport of hockey as both a player and coach that has guided him through each milestone of his career. For the last 33 years, he has made his mark at URI working with the men’s hockey team.
Early in the season, Augustine was aware of the possibility that he could win his 700th career game. However, he explained that the numbers on the scoreboard are not his big focus. Although the team lost their last game, Augustine mentioned that he was proud of how the team played during that game.
“Best hockey we played, we lost to Niagara,” Augustine said. “We didn’t generate any offense, but it was the best game we played in weeks.”
Fourth year defensive player, Mike Costello, shared that just like head coach Augustine, he and his teammates focus more on the way they perform in the rink rather than the numbers they might rack up during a game.
During the quarterfinals of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League, the Rams went up against Drexel and came out on top with a 4-3 win. Fourth year forward player, Dylan Weinchselbaumer was the one to score the last goal, bringing the team to victory as well as Coach Augustine his 700th career win.
As much of an accomplishment as this milestone is in Augustine’s career, he didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the team and the program’s significance to his accomplishments. Augustine highlighted the importance of the team and everyone involved that has made the team who they are today.
“I’ve never scored a goal at URI,” Augustine said. “Any numbers that are put up are done by the student athletes, the ones who go out and do the games”.
Augustine’s history with hockey started when around the age of 10. Growing up on the West side of Chicago, Augustine illustrated that there were not many places to play hockey. Therefore, at a young age, he started playing hockey on any frozen pond him and his friends could find. Later in his early teenage years was when he started to play inside on a real ice rink. He attended Saint Rita High School where he played on their hockey team and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame back in 2013.
Once it was time to start thinking about college, after carefully figuring out what school Augustine wanted to attend, in 1975 he was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the seventh round of the World Hockey association and was picked 78th overall to play for the Cleveland Crusaders. Eventually, his final decision was to attend Boston College.
“Division one is very competitive, of all the schools that was the best fit for me,” Augustine said.
During his time as a player for Boston College, he became one of the six defenseman in Boston College history to join the 100-point club. He made his mark playing three seasons with the Eagles. Later in 2005 he was inducted into the Boston College Hall of Fame as the team’s 58th hockey player.
He initially started off playing for Boston College in 1975 up until 1978. Throughout his post draft leagues, he played professionally for several teams between 1978 and 1983. He started playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks from 1978-1979 and later played for them again during the 1982-1983 season. From 1979-1981 he played for the New Haven Nighthawks and the Richmond Rifles. He played for the Springfield Indians from 1981-1982 and then played for Wichita Wind from 1982-1983.
Though Augustine has been a coach here at the University of Rhode Island for the past three decades, his coaching career started years earlier in 1983. In his early years of coaching he started out at a few high schools throughout Rhode Island. He recognized that his previous coaches leading up to this point helped shape him into the coach he is today.
“I’ve taken advice from the coaches I’ve had over the years, good and bad,” Augustine said.
His coaching career really began to take off in 1983 when he became the assistant coach at Tolman High School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Not too long after that, in 1985 he was appointed the head coach of Shea High School also located in Pawtucket. While coaching at Shea, he successfully helped the team win both division and state titles. In his next three years of coaching, he spent two of them as the assistant coach at Brown University and one year as the head coach for the Community College of Rhode Island.
Six years into his coaching career was when he became a part of the Rhody Rams in 1989. Back in the 2013 season he won his 500th game and now ten years later he added another 200 game wins to his career as a coach.
When it comes to any type of motivational speeches he gives the team before going on the rink, Augustine mentioned that there’s nothing that he could say that would instantly change the way the players are already prepared to play the game. He adapts his knowledge and experiences as a hockey player into his own style of coaching.
“For me as a player nothing needed to be said before a game that was going to affect my playing,” Augustine said. “I wanted to compete and any good athlete would want to go out and compete”.
Even though there might not be any pre-game words of wisdom, Costello drew attention to the advice he has gotten over his last four years from coach Augustine. He stated that his advice has helped him on the team as well as benefiting him to be successful in the future.
“He likes to relate hockey and life after hockey as both being competitive aspects of life,” Costello said. “He wants us to create a strong work ethic and be successful in the future.”
Looking forward to next season, the team will lose part of their lineup as the seniors on the team will be graduating in May. Over the last few decades, Augustine has made his mark at the University of Rhode Island, and continues to do so as he begins to start thinking about the team’s season next year.