A pair of Iron Rangers will be inducted into the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame between the afternoon and evening quarterfinal sessions of the Class AA state tournament Thursday.
Pat Furlong, a three-sport standout at Hibbing High School before playing collegiately for coach John Mariucci at the University of Minnesota, has since made his mark in coaching. Furlong is most closely associated with Mound High School, where he coached the boys team from 1967 through the early 1990s, and the girls team from the mid-1990s through 2005. He has coached at various schools since, including Benilde-St. Margaret's, Eden Prairie, Holy Family Catholic and Edina. Furlong has coached more than 1,000 games.
Roy Nystrom starred at Eveleth High School before playing for the Gophers from 1961-65. Upon graduating from Minnesota, Nystrom coached high school hockey in North Dakota until 1973. He left North Dakota for Albert Lea High School, where he has coached for the past 41 seasons, racking up 671 victories and three trips to the state tournament.
