When the Rangers consider University of Denver’s Jim Montgomery for their head-coaching vacancy, here is one story from his first real gig behind the bench that seems to sum him up.
It was 2013, and Montgomery was in his third year as the headman for the expansion Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL. After winning in his first year — and the team’s inaugural season of 2011 — the Saints were up 2-0 in the championship series, a best-of-five contest against the Fargo Force. They were then up 2-1 in Game 3 with less than a minute to play when Fargo pulled its goalie and scored, sending Montgomery’s downtrodden team back to the locker room before the overtime period.