[June 03, 2011] Michigan State hockey assistant coach Tom Newton survives coaching upheavals Tweet May 28, 2011 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Nobody has been more involved in Michigan State hockey over the past two decades than Tom Newton. Newton is the longest tenured assistant at one school in college hockey. He was hired by former coach Ron Mason on June 12, 1990; he stayed on when Rick Comley took over the head coaching duties in 2002 and was again retained when Tom Anastos was hired as the new bench boss in March. "I feel like I have the ability to develop relationships," Newton said. "And I don't lose sight of who I work for. I don't care if you were a Hobey Baker winner or the guy that was a student manager, you're important to me." Newton is also confident in his abilities as a recruiter and coach. "If you can't coach, if you can't recruit, that shows up eventually," he said. "I think I'm pretty good at what I do." Newton and Anastos were assistants under Mason in 1990-92. Although Anastos said earlier this week that the coaching staff would meet to decide specific roles and job duties, Newton said thus far it's similar to the way it was under Mason. "With Ron, I was part of the team and things were divvied up and everything was brought back and the group made decisions, and I see that happening again," Newton said. "We'll all have our areas of responsibilities." Newton has been a part of three CCHA regular-season championships, four CCHA tournament titles, 14 NCAA tournament appearances, four Frozen Fours and the 2007 title team. To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.freep.com Copyright (c) 2011, Detroit Free Press Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]