John Tortorella, who played at Maine from 1978 to 1981, is back in the National Hockey League.

The New York Rangers hired Tortorella yesterday to replace Tom Renney, who was fired after more than four seasons on Broadway.

Tortorella's brother, Jim, is the head hockey coach at Colby College in Waterville. He also played hockey at Maine, from 1977 to 1981.

Jim Tortorella explained that the likelihood of a coach losing his job, especially at the NHL level, is almost inevitable. Then again, so is the likelihood of a proven coach getting another job. Keep in mind that John Tortorella has a Stanley Cup ring from 2004.

"Him getting back in, he proved himself to a point where I felt he was going to get back in," Jim Tortorella said. "The opportunity had to present itself at the right time. Teams tend to recycle coaches within the league, and his style is certainly a style that has to be with the right organization."

Since he was fired from Tampa Bay in the spring, John Tortorella has been commuting between Florida and Canada, where he has served as a studio analyst with TSN, Canada's answer to ESPN.

But Tortorella ran his first practice with the Rangers this morning, and New York faces Toronto on Thursday at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. The Rangers are currently tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference standings (with Montreal) but are 2-5-3 in their last four games.

John Tortorella is well-known for his intensity and his demanding style of coaching, something that his brother believes could benefit the Rangers, who, right now, might be one of the Eastern Conference's bubble teams when it comes to the postseason.

"Some people commented, 'is John the right fit with 21 games left in the regular season?' " Jim Tortorella said. "The Rangers want to make the playoffs, and I don't think John would have gone there if it was just a 21-game situation. He's got long-term plans. John can bring in accountability, to have them reflect and ask, did they do their best, did they compete? That could bode well in a 21-game situation, in the stretch run."

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Another former Black Bear returned to the NHL - goalie Jimmy Howard, who was called up to the Red Wings over the weekend. Howard's stay with the Wings was short. Detroit returned him to Grand Rapids, it's AHL affiliate, a day after Howard made 24 saves in a 5-2 loss Saturday at Minnesota.

"It definitely didn't go as planned, as I played it out in my head," Howard told the Detroit Free Press. "But I mean I'm still going to take some good things out of this game. I wish I could have done more with the opportunity that I received here, but I still believe in myself and I still think that I'm going to be an NHL goalie one day."

Howard is Maine's career shutout leader with 15 in three seasons.

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The Terriers are still No. 1 in one poll, but No. 2 in another. Boston University, again, is atop this week's USCHO.com/CBS College Sports top 20 poll, but is No. 2 behind Notre Dame in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey top 15 poll.

Vermont, Maine's opponent this weekend, is No. 8 in the USA Today poll and No. 9 in the USCHO.com poll.

The Black Bears did not receive votes in either poll.

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