Jay Leach, 75, who began the collegiate portion of his storied coaching career at Merrimack in 1983, has died. According to his obituary, Leach died Sept. 30 after a battle with dementia.
Leach’s coaching career stretched from his start at Merrimack in 1983 through 2017, when he served as associate head coach at Maine.
Leach was on the staff of the 1984 Merrimack team that lost to Bemidji State in the Division II national championship game. He coached under head coach Ron Anderson and alongside fellow assistant Jim Logue.
After one season with the Warriors, Leach joined Maine as an assistant coach, a position he held from 1984-88. He then moved to the NHL, serving as an assistant coach with the Hartford Whalers from 1988-91.
Leach’s first head coaching job came in 1992 with the Springfield Indians of the AHL. He remained in the league from 1993-96 as head coach of the Hershey Bears.
Leach returned to the NHL in 1996 as an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings. He joined the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, spent the 2001-02 season with the New Jersey Devils and later served as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals from 2005-07.
In 2013, Leach returned to Maine under Red Gendron. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2014 and remained with the program through the 2016-17 season before retiring.