Durfee Hilltoppers - Varsity Hockey: Video Clips/Pictures: Coach Steve Maurer
Coach Steve Maurer
STEVE MAURER succeeded Jack Carey who stepped down after the 1986-87 season. Maurer was an assistant to Carey in the 1986-87 season. In March of 2003, Maurer completed his 17th year at Durfee, 15 years as head coach. Coach Maurer's hand picked assistant was Bob Costa who was appointed in 1987 and completed 13 seasons at Durfee before retiring at the end of the 1999-2000 season. Coach Costa also served as head coach for the junior varisty over that 13 year period. Bob Gagnon was added to Coach Maurer's staff in 2000 and was appointed new junior varsity coach. Coach Gagnon had served as a volunteer assistant for 7 years prior to his official appointment. At the end of the 2001-02 season, Maurer stepped down as the head hockey coach and was replaced by Jack Carey. Maurer remained on at Durfee Hockey as a varsity assistant for the 2002-03 season and stepped down at the conclusion of the season. In Maurer's tenure as head coach, the Hilltoppers captured six Big Three Conference Championships and seven Challenge Cup Championships. In stepping down, Maurer mentioned what he enjoyed most about coaching at Durfee. "From my 17 years at Durfee, I will always remember the wonderful kids who played for me, not just play but play hard. They built a winning tradition here that hopefully will continue for years to come. They were never presented with an easy schedule, it was highly competive. Our teams may have sacrificed some wins by playing this highly competitive schedule, but they never disappointed and turned in good efforts. It was proof that we belonged playing these type of teams and it gained our program a good name and respectability. Durfee Hockey had arrived! Our teams played the likes of power-house programs such as Austin Prep, Xaverian, Don Bosco, Billerica, Medford, Waltham, Falmouth, Malden Catholic, Central Catholic, Chelmsford and Waterloo (Maine). They also played strong teams such as Duxbury, Barnstable, Canton, Franklin, North Quincy, Braintree, Quincy, Silver Lake, Everett, Walpole, Wilmington, Weymouth, Coyle/Cassidy and Bishop Feehan. The players were all an honor to coach and I will never forget any of them. Also, having the opportunity to coach with such strong character coaches as Bob Costa, Bob Gagnon and Jack Carey made my job as head coach easy. Also, working under two great AD's in Tom (Skip) Karam and Tom Burns was an honor. They were both always there for me. Finally, Im proud at my kids for the years of fundraising for local charities in Fall River (Fall River Food Bank, Our Sister's Place, The Letourneau Fund, The Thomas Giunta Memorial Fund) where we raised easily over $10,000 over the years. Im very proud at what we did here at Durfee High School and leave feeling a sense of accomplishment. Thank you all and best wishes. I will always be Durfee Hockey's biggest fan" (17 YEARS)
