Here's why Meadville hockey coach Jamie Plunkett is retiring after 37 seasons, 1,100-plus wins
Zack Schepner was fuzzy on the age. Maybe he was 6. Maybe 7.
What the Meadville Area High School junior specifically remembers are the circumstances for the first he met Jamie Plunkett, the school's hockey head coach.
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“I remembered watching my older brothers playing for him,” Schepner said. “We were in a hotel lobby when he asked me how tall I was and how much I weighed.”
Plunkett was already sizing up Schepner as a future Bulldog.
Which is exactly how the future played out. The youngest of Dave Schepner's three sons is a forward for Meadville's 2022-23 team.
A team that will be Plunkett's last.
Plunkett, 67, announced through Facebook on Sunday that he'll retire after 37 seasons. The Bulldogs' Feb. 27 game against Mars Area at the George S. DeArment Ice Arena will be his last behind their bench.
Plunkett helped turn Meadville from a fledgling program in the mid-1980s into one that won more than 1,100 games and eight Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League championships during his tenure.
There will be no ninth state title for the current Bulldogs, who were 3-15 in the league's Varsity Class 2A standings after Monday's 3-1 loss to Penn-Trafford. They'll face South Fayette at Mt. Lebanon on Thursday ahead of their season finale against Mars.
Plunkett emphasized that Meadville's down season didn't factor into his decision. The former head athletic trainer for Allegheny College, who retired from that position six years years ago, simply felt it was the right time to depart.
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“Like a lot of things, this (job) ran its course and I was just at the point where I wanted to do something different in the winter,” Plunkett said. “I'm 67 and not getting any younger. You start (training camp for varsity hockey) in late August and from there it's a huge time commitment.
“Many years ago, I didn't think twice about that. But, it's at the point now where I feel myself slowing down and ready for a break.”
Plunkett decided during the holiday break that this would be his last season. His wife, Sue, daughters Annie and Joanie, and the team's board of directors were informed weeks ago.
Plunkett broke the news to his six assistants Saturday night, and then the players Sunday morning.
David Schepner, whose tenure as president of the team's board of directors began in January, also spoke to Zack Schepner and the rest of the Bulldogs at that time.
David Schepner found it difficult to speak, given the impact and influence Plunkett has had on his family.
“I knew he was going to retire at some point. I just didn't know when,” Schepner said. “We have 11 seniors on (current team), so I was hoping he'd stick it out another year. But the guy's been at it for 37 years. He deserves some time with his family.”
Bulldogs no underdogs in 1990s
Plunkett took over Meadville's hockey program in the fall of 1986.
It took all of one season for the Ontario native and Cornell University graduate to prove his was a quality hire. The Bulldogs won the 1986-87 PIHL Class 2A tournament, followed by the Class 3A tournament two years later.
That was only a prelude. Plunkett coached Meadville to the PIHL 3A title every year between 1992 and 1996.
“He basically took a non-existent program and made it a statewide powerhouse,” David Schepner said. “He made it so when the word 'Meadville' was mentioned, they knew it for hockey. If you're not in hockey circles, I understand. But if you're in Ohio or southern New York or all of Pennsylvania, when you say 'Meadville,' people think of Bulldogs hockey.”
"It's just remarkable what he did with this program. Even in our lean years, we were always a threat. (Teams) needed to bring their 'A' game, because Meadville was coming.”
Meadville hung its eighth PIHL banner after the team's 2002-03 3A title run. Jim McCarney was Plunkett's goaltender coach for that team.
McCarney, now a Florida resident, owns PIHL gold medals as a player and coach. The 1989 Meadville graduate competed for the Bulldogs' first two state championship teams.
“There's hundreds of guys like me who played hockey (for Meadville) for Jamie,” McCarney said. “A lot of them would probably say he was a second father to them. I'm one of them. Meadville is lucky that he was so involved in the community and that he wasn't just coaching to win. Character and giving back to the community meant a lot.”
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'I feel like I'm the lucky one'
Plunkett said he had no issue helping Meadville find his coaching successor, but only if asked.
Beyond that, he plans to spend more time with his family and, at least for the near future, take retirement for what it is.
That will allow him ample chances to personally thank those who helped make him the iconic figure he's become in Crawford County and Pennsylvania sports history.
“I feel very fortunate to have coached in this community for as many years as I have,” Plunkett said. “The support from the parents, from the community and from the (county) businesses, it's the best high school coaching job in Pennsylvania. It's all been very much appreciated.”
“I feel like I'm the lucky one.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Meadville hockey head coach Jamie Plunkett retiring after 37 seasons
