BGSU Mourns Passing Of Mark Wells

(From Bowling Green State University)

Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Famer (1992) Mark Wells has passed away.

Wells, a native of St. Clair Shores, Mich., attended Bowling Green State University from 1975-79, where he was a star forward on the ice hockey team. He officially received a scholarship after his freshman season. He joined the 1980 Olympic team after the 1979 college season ended and, along with BGSU teammate Ken Morrow, won gold medals with the “Miracle on Ice” USA team at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

Wells was selected 176th overall in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He joined Montreal’s top farm team, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, after the Olympics. He was released by Montreal after the 1980 season and then signed a free agent contract with the New York Rangers. Wells spent the following two seasons in the minor leagues with the New Haven Nighthawks, Flint Generals, Fort Wayne Komets, and Oklahoma City Stars, retiring in 1982 without playing a single game in the NHL.

Following his retirement from hockey, Wells worked as a restaurant manager in Rochester Hills, Mich. The city officials in his hometown of St. Clair Shores, Mich., renamed the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena’s Olympia Room the Mark Wells Ice Rink in 2014.

Mark Wells, a two-time first-team All-CCHA honoree, was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.