The man who made The Michigan a famous goal will be the new head coach of the Ridge Meadows Flames.
Mike Legg, who has been an assistant coach with the Junior A team, is taking on the job of bench boss for the coming season.
Legg is best known in the hockey world for the lacrosse-style goal he scored while playing for the University of Michigan in the 1996 NCAA Tournament, against the University of Minnesota. Legg was behind the net when he scooped up the puck onto the black of his stick, stuffed it into the top corner of the net, and took his place in hockey history. The stick he used is in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
READ ALSO: Maple Ridge coach Mike Legg scored the original lacrosse-style goal
Brent Hughes, who has led the team to three straight Pacific Junior Hockey League Championships, is moving on.
He has been at the helm for what must be considered the glory days of the franchise, compiling a record of 235-66-6-6 over five seasons.
Flames president of hockey operations Blaine Hallman said Hughes will explore other opportunities to further his coaching career, and described the parting as “very amicable, but sad.”
“It’s disappointing. He’s a good friend of ours,” said Hallman. “And the kids have benefited from this man.
READ ALSO: Former NHLer takes over as Ridge Meadows Flames head coach
In the 2022-23 season, Hughes guided the Flames through a memorable playoff run that culminated in the Stonehouse Cup Championship series against the Delta Ice Hawks. Ridge lost a heartbreaker in game 7, in double overtime.
Then came three PJHL championships, starting in 2023-24. He also led the team to two Mowat Cup Championships, for the top team in the province in what used to be called Junior B, and took silver medals in both 2024 and 2025.
“Winning is hard, and he showed us how,” said Hallman. “He was a demanding coach – he expected the same passion from everybody that he brought.”
Hallman said Hughes ran the team at a time when players were setting league and franchise records, and it was a lot of fun to come to the rink.
“He’s also a great human being,” said Hallman. “He cares about the kids more than anybody.”
Hughes was a great player for the WHL New Westminister Bruins during the 1980s, leading the team in scoring in 1985-86, and then went on to play 357 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders. He was a hard-nosed player who put up 41 goals, 80 points, and 831 penalty minutes in the NHL. He went on to be a head coach in the minor pro leagues,with the Austin Ice Bats for six years, and the Corpus Christi Icerays for three. In those nine seasons as a coach he missed the playoffs just twice, and lost in the championships twice.
Legg is the Flames’ succession plan. He has been with Ridge since the 2018-19 season, and has also coached in the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association 2017-2018.
He is also involved with BC Hockey in the program delivery of the High Performance 1 coaching certification course.
Legg couldn’t be more prepared to become a head coach.
“We’re lucky to have a guy like Mike,” said Hallman.
Legg played four seasons of NCAA hockey with Michigan, and was drafted by the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. His pro career includes six seasons in the Finnish Elite League and IHL, CHL, WPHL, WCHL, and ECHL. He works as a career firefighter in Burnaby.
“He is a strong communicator and team builder with a unique hockey background as a player and coach with specialties both in on-ice and off-ice developmental skills,” said the team announcement.