ORONO – He admitted that he swayed back and forth. Like the title of a song by the rock group The Clash, University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh found himself wondering “Should I stay or should I go?”

“It was very tough for him,” said Walsh’s wife, Tracey.

But after the Walshes weighed the pros and cons of going to Denver University, where Shawn would have been the head hockey coach and an associate athletic director, the decision was made to remain at Maine.

“We finally put a list together on Friday night and it came out in favor of Maine,” said Walsh, who turned down a package at Denver that would have earned him more than $100,000 per year.

In the end, it was the people in Maine and the support he has received from them that helped sway his decision. It was also the backing he has had from Waterville philanthropist Harold Alfond and the school’s administration, particularly Athletic Director Kevin White and President Dale Lick.

“This is a great place. You won’t find the interest and support across the state at many places like you do in Maine. I talked with Harold (Alfond) and Governor (John) McKernan on Friday night and it’s nice to know that it means so much to this state. The more Tracey and I looked at it, the more we liked it here,” said Walsh, who will begin his seventh season at Maine in the fall.

Walsh, a two-time Hockey East Coach of the Year, has a 145-106-8 mark and has directed his last four Maine teams into the NCAA Tournament’s Final Eight. Two of those teams went to the Final Four.

The 34-year-old Walsh also said he was touched by a group of grade-school children parked in a bus in front of the Memorial Gym who hollered “Don’t Go” to him.

“The reaction of my players has been very pleasing, too,” said Walsh. “It’s nice to know somebody who is as tough on his players as I can be (is appreciated by his players).”

Maine senior tri-captain Guy Perron said Walsh is a demanding coach, but “he tries to find a way to get the best out of his players and he does it. He gets the job done. That’s what counts. We were always prepared and he was always thinking ahead. On our days off, he’d be in his office doing things like matching up lines for the next series. That’s why we’ve had so much success.”

Perron thought Walsh made the right decision.

“He wants a shot at a national championship and he certainly has a better chance here than he would at Denver,” said Walsh.

Another important factor in his decision to stay was loyalty.

“We’re looking at a school that gave me a contract extension when I was 23-57-2 after my first two years,” said Walsh, who had one year left on his three-year contract, but had it extended to three years.

“To walk away now would be ungrateful to a school that gave me my first head coaching job when other New England schools didn’t deem me worthy.”

Walsh was the youngest Division I coach in the country at age 29 when he was named to replace Jack Semler by Stu Haskell, who was the athletic director at Maine at the time.

“There’s something to be said for institutional loyalty,” said Walsh.

He called Denver’s offer “staggering” and said DU officials handled matters in a first-class fashion.

Walsh has been outspoken about the University of Maine’s budget cuts, including the loss of two scholarships for his program, but he is optimistic about the future.

“The problem is statewide and I believe it is temporary,” said Walsh. “If not, we’ll just have to find ways to overcome the problems.”

Walsh has two more years on his current contract, but he said he has had favorable discussions with Dr. White about an eventual contract extension. He also said he hopes a proposed rink expansion becomes a reality in the near future.

“I love my work here,” said Walsh from his office on Sunday evening. “I want to keep this program going. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, let alone next season. I want us to win a national title.”