a goal and five points. As a result of his eye injury, he still has a blind spot and suffers fuzziness on the right side of his vision. When goaltender Pat Jablonski was sent down to the Spitfires by the NHL's St. Louis Blues, the club was forced to vacate a spot on the team to accommodate him. Singled out, Maurice was given the option by team owner Peter Karmanos to be traded or to become an assistant coach with team. Choosing the latter, Maurice retired from hockey and focused his career on coaching. Career statistics Coaching career Windsor Spitfires (1987–1990) Maurice began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Spitfires after he retired as a player. He began working under head coach Tom Webster. The Spitfires finished the 1987–88 season with the best record in the league, going 50–14–2. In the playoffs, Windsor swept the Kitchener Rangers, Hamilton Steelhawks and Peterborough Petes to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup and earn a berth in the 1988 Memorial Cup. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Spitfires went 3–0, outscoring the opposition 18–9, and clinched a position in the Memorial Cup final. In the final game, the Spitfires were upset by the Medicine Hat Tigers, losing 7–6. Maurice spent his first full season with the club in 1988–89, as the rebuilding club struggled to a 25–37–4 record, earning 54 points, however, the team reached the playoffs. In the first round of the post-season, the Spitfires were swept by the Niagara Falls Thunder in four games. The rebuilding Spitfires had a new head coach for the 1989–90, as Tom Webster left to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, and Brad Smith was hired to take his place. Windsor struggled to a 17–41–8 record, finishing in last place in the Emms Division, and failed to make the playoffs. Detroit Compuware Ambassadors/Detroit Jr. Red Wings (1990–1995) Maurice left his job as an assistant coach with the Spitfires in the summer of 1990, opting to join Peter Karmanos, who became the owner of the expansion team, the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors. Maurice was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Andy Weidenbach. During their expansion season in 1990–91, the Ambassadors struggled to a record of 11–50–5, earning 27 points and finishing in last place in the Emms Division, failing to reach the playoffs. The Ambassadors continued to struggle