Keefe, Foley named new assistants under Madigan at Northeastern

–Courtesy Story/Northeastern University–

BOSTON – Former Brown University assistant coach Jerry Keefe and former Harvard University assistant coach Patrick Foley will round out the Northeastern University men’s ice hockey staff, as announced by Huskies’ head coach Jim Madigan on Wednesday.
 
Northeastern’s new duo of assistant coaches combine for over a decade of coaching experience and are extremely knowledgeable about the Hockey East Association, having played their college careers in the conference. Keefe was an assistant coach under Brendan Whittet for the last two years with the Bears while Foley spent the last four seasons as the Crimson’s assistant coach on Ted Donato’s staff while Keefe
 
“I am very excited that Jerry and Pat have joined the Northeastern hockey staff,” Madigan said. “They possess all of the characteristics I felt were necessary to fill these two important roles.
 
“Jerry and Pat are quality people who possess a sharp set of communication skills, a keen understanding of the game and the ability to teach and develop our young student-athletes. Each of them understands what it takes to succeed in Hockey East, calling upon their collegiate careers.”
 
Jerry Keefe
Keefe has established himself as a notable name in the New England college hockey ranks, making stops at Westfield State and UMass Boston before his two seasons at Brown from 2009 to 2011. Much like Foley, Keefe has gained valuable experience through many different capacities with USA Hockey.
 
“Jerry has an extensive recruiting network that will allow our hockey program to attract top student-athletes to Northeastern,” Madigan said. “Additionally, Jerry’s previous coaching experience will be critical in developing our student-athletes and preparing them for future opportunities in hockey.  He will be a valuable resource in all aspects of the Northeastern hockey program.”
 
In his first season behind the bench with Brown in 2009-10, Keefe helped direct the Bears to an ECAC Semifinals birth for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign.
 
One of Keefe’s most notable accomplishments was the resurrection of the Westfield State hockey program for the 2008-09 season after a 20-year dormant phase. Keefe was able to recruit 27 student-athletes and led the Owls to a second-place finish in the MASCAC. Keefe’s squad posted an 11-9-4 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 1980-81.
 
Before breathing life into Westfield State’s program, Keefe served as an assistant for one season with UMass Boston in 2006-07.
 
Keefe’s roles with USA Hockey include the Yankee Conference Team New England District head evaluator (2006-08), an instructor for New England District Festivals (2006-07), a coach for the USA Hockey Select-17 Festival in St. Cloud, Minn. (2007-08), and a coach for the Massachusetts Satellite Program (2008-present).
 
As a student-athlete, Keefe was a four-year center with Providence College from 1996 to 2000 and finished with 98 points (30-68-98) in 102 career games. After leading the Friars with 52 points in 37 games, the highest single-season point total in 15 years, Keefe was honored as New England’s Most Improved Player.
 
Upon graduation, Keefe’s professional hockey career started at the end of the 2000 season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) and Trenton Titans (ECHL). Keefe’s pro career last five years, including a pair of seasons in Europe.
  
Patrick Foley
Foley possesses a unique coaching background, both at the collegiate and international levels. The Milton, Mass. native not only coached at Harvard, but also served as an assistant coach for two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP). In 2008, Foley was an assistant coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic.
 
“Pat brings a blend of youth and coaching experience that few his age possess,” Madigan said. “He has coached at the collegiate and international level and has surrounded himself with some of the top hockey minds in the game. Pat will use his recruiting and coaching experiences to attract and teach our student-athletes. Pat is a wonderful complement to the Northeastern coaching staff.”
 
While at Harvard, Foley specialized in working with the defensive unit and special teams. In his first year with the Crimson, Foley’s penalty-killing unit staved off 84.9 percent of the power plays it faced, good for 24th nationally, and was tops in ECAC Hockey. Foley also helped lead the Crimson to the 2008 Beanpot and ECAC Hockey title games and sweeps of road playoff series in 2010 and 2011.
 
Prior to his time in Cambridge, Mass., Foley assisted the U.S. National U-18 Team and helped guide Team USA to a gold medal in the 2006 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and a silver medal at the 2007 championship. He was also part of the staff that directed NTDP teams to a gold medal at the 2005 Four Nations tournament in Finland and a silver medal at the 2006 Five Nations in Russia. Foley was instrumental in nurturing 13 NTDP players who were chosen in the 2006 NHL Draft, including a pair of forwards selected with the first two overall picks in the 2007 draft.
 
Foley enjoyed a fruitful college hockey career at the University of New Hampshire, graduating in 2004. Foley was the second UNH player ever to serve as captain for three straight seasons and anchored the Wildcats’ consecutive Hockey East championships and Frozen Four appearances in 2002 and 2003.
 
Before dressing for New Hampshire, Foley played for the U.S. National Under-18 Team and was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round with the 185th pick of the 2000 NHL Draft.
 
Foley has family roots that tie back to Northeastern as his father, Kevin, played football for the Huskies from 1972 to 1974 as well as the 1976 season.
 
Keefe and Foley will team up with Madigan for the first time behind Northeastern’s bench in the Huskies’ scrimmage against St. Francis Xavier on Sunday, Oct. 2 at Matthews Arena at 7 p.m. Northeastern’s opens the 2011-12 schedule at home against Massachusetts on Friday night, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

Alumnus, former NHL scout Jim Madigan tabbed as tenth all-time head coach at NU

Press Release (courtesy Northeastern University)

BOSTON — Northeastern alumnus and three-time Beanpot champion Jim Madigan has been named Northeastern men’s ice hockey head coach, Director of Athletics Peter Roby announced today (July 26). Madigan, the 10th coach in program history, brings more than 26 years of college and professional hockey experience to his new post on Huntington Avenue. He played for the Huskies from 1981 to 1985 and was an assistant coach at the university from 1986 to 1993. He has served as a professional scout for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins since 1993, winning a Stanley Cup in 2009.

Madigan will be formally introduced as head coach at a press conference today at 12:30 p.m. at Matthews Arena on the Northeastern campus. The press conference will be streamed live on the athletic department’s website, GoNU.com.

“It’s a true honor to be named head coach at Northeastern,” said Madigan. “I have tremendous passion for this university and for this program. Northeastern is a world-class institution and Boston is a world-class city. I’m thrilled to be back where it all started for me—Matthews Arena.”

“The expectations I have for our program are high. We will continue to build on the momentum established by Greg Cronin and his staff, and we will compete at the highest level, both in Hockey East and nationally.”

Merrimack signs hockey coach Dennehy to two additional years

by Joshua Kummins
(Portions by Brad Davis, Merrimack College Sports Information Director, from press release)

The Merrimack College Athletic Department, led by Athletic Director Glenn Hoffman, added two years to the contract of hockey coach Mark Dennehy late Friday afternoon. The deal guarantees that the Boston College graduate will now remain with the Warriors through the 2018-19 season.

He originally signed a contract extension prior to the start of the record-setting 2010-11 season.

“This contract extension underscores Merrimack’s commitment to Mark and his leadership. Mark led his team to national prominence with a culture of integrity and principle. He embodies the values of the College and serves as a role model for all students,” said Merrimack President Christopher E. Hopey. “I am pleased to have Mark continue as head coach and remain an integral part of the Merrimack community.”

The extension of Dennehy’s contract continues a series of major investments made under President Hopey this year in the areas of academics and athletics and comes at a time when the College is expected to enroll the largest freshmen class in its history and is in the midst of several campus construction projects including the expansion of the Volpe Center, which will include a new sports medicine area, strength and conditioning training area and second ice rink.

In his sixth year as head coach at Merrimack, Dennehy guided the Warriors to their first-ever Hockey East Championship Game appearance, a Division I school record 25 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988. The crowds returned to a newly-renovated J. Thom Lawler Arena during this past year, while Dennehy’s team posted the best home ice record in Hockey East for the second straight season (13-2-1).

“Mark has done a tremendous job with the hockey program, and we’re happy he will be leading our program for the foreseeable future,” said Hofmann, who is in his third year at Merrimack. “His team has excelled on the ice and in the classroom, helped to build pride amongst Merrimack alumni and distinguished themselves on campus and in the community.”

Dennehy himself had very high praise for Hopey, Hoffman, and the entire Merrimack community as he opened a new chapter in his career.

“I am humbled and my family is truly grateful for the support and trust that Dr. Hopey and Glenn Hofmann have continued to show in me and the hockey program,” said Dennehy. “Merrimack is a unique and special place in which hockey is truly a part of the fabric of the College. The excitement and momentum that not only the hockey program has established, but just as importantly is present throughout the entire college community makes this a place that I want to stay at for the rest of my career.”

Dennehy was the 2009-10 Co-Hockey East Coach of the Year and was the 2010 and 2011 All-New England Coach of the Year.

In 2010-11, Merrimack defeated every Hockey East team for the second straight season and second time ever and was ranked nationally for the final 17 weeks of the season. The program reached new heights as it reached fourth in the nation during the month of February 2011.

In Dennehy’s six years at Merrimack, the Warriors have earned more Hockey East All-Academic Scholar Athletes of the Year than any other Hockey East school and have recorded a 3.0 GPA or better in three straight seasons.

This season, ten of Dennehy’s players were named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team, which was announced a few weeks back.

Merrimack also saw its first two players drafted in the NHL Entry Draft under Dennehy as Kyle Bigos (Upland, CA) and Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA) were selected in the 2009 draft, while Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) signed a two-year contact with the Ottawa Senators following his second year with the Warriors.

Take two: Cronin officially leaves Northeastern to become assistant coach with Toronto Maple Leafs

Northeastern University Director of Athletics Peter Roby announced today that head coach Greg Cronin has accepted an offer to return to professional hockey as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

A nationwide search for Cronin’s replacement will begin immediately, but assistant coach Sebastien Laplante, who played at NU from 1989 to 1993, will serve as the interim head coach. Laplante joined Cronin’s staff in 2008 as an assistant coach and will also be a candidate to take over the position full-time.

Cronin was named head coach at Northeastern in 2005. During his tenure, he elevated the program to new heights and collected 71 wins over the previous four seasons — the most over a four-year period in program history.

“I want to thank Greg for the incredible work he has done on behalf of this university and our student-athletes,” Roby said in a press release announcing Cronin’s departure. “Greg has been a tireless worker, both on and off the ice. He has taken our hockey program to new heights. He’s advanced our relationships with alumni and friends of the program. And he’s helped reshape our arena into one of the finest hockey venues in the nation.”

Over the last three years, the Huskies made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994, qualified for the Hockey East semifinals twice and earned two trips to the Beanpot championship game at TD Garden.

Cronin’s new role with the Maple Leafs marks a return to professional hockey. He served as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders for six seasons from 1998-2003 and was the organization’s director of player development for three years (2002‐05). He was the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

Former Islanders and Providence Bruins head coach Ron Gordon, a native of Easton, Massachusetts, will join Cronin on the bench. Gordon was a goaltender for Boston College from 1982 to 1986, posting a career mark of 64-35-3. He’s a former Hockey East First-Team All-Star in 1986 and he played a huge role in the Eagles’ first place finish in the ECAC East Region in 1983-84.

New coach Bazin names UML assistants

Jason Lammers and Cam Ellsworth have been named an assistant coaches with the UMass Lowell hockey program, announced first-year head coach Norm Bazin on Thursday.

Lammers brings over a decade of coaching experience to UMass Lowell, most recently spending the last two seasons with Colorado College. In addition, he has coached at Ohio State University, SUNY Geneseo, Princeton University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Clarkson University and Hobart College.

Ellsworth joins the River Hawks after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. He also adds eight seasons of professional and collegiate experience as a goaltender for Michigan Technological University and several teams in the ECHL.

Together with Bazin, the trio will look to turn-around the River Hawks who struggled to a 5-25-4 record (4-21-2 in Hockey East) last year but can return as many as 24 players for the 2011-12 season.

Former Union assistant Barr named assistant at Providence

PRESS RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — Providence College men’s hockey Head Coach Nate Leaman announced the appointment of Ben Barr as assistant coach at the College on Wednesday, May 11.

Barr, who spent the last three seasons at Union College, was instrumental in helping the Dutchmen post a 66-39-13 mark during his tenure. While at Union, Barr’s responsibilities were recruiting, working with the forwards on the ice, assisting with special teams, managing the team’s off-ice strength and conditioning program, coordinating team travel and video analysis. During the 2010-11 season, Barr helped guide the Dutchmen to a school record 144 goals. In addition, Union had the top power play in the nation as it posted a 29.5 percent success rate.

A 2004 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a four-year member of the hockey team, Barr served as a volunteer coach at his alma mater in 2004-05 and 2007-08 before being hired at Union. In addition, he was a coach for the USA Hockey Select 15 Team during the summer of 2009 and 2010. Barr also served as a coach for the USA Hockey Select 14 Team during the summer of 2008 and for the Select 17 Team in 2007. From 2005 to 2007 he was the head coach for the Capital District Select AAA PeeWee Major Hockey Team.

As a student-athlete at RPI, Barr totalled 64 points (25 goals and 39 assists) in 140 career games. He was the team’s most valuable player in 2002-03 and was presented with the team’s coaches award in 2002-03 and in 2003-04. During his junior season, he recorded a team-best three short-handed goals and finished tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals. Barr served as a captain in his senior season and again led the team in short-handed goals (two) and game winners (three).

Barr also excelled in the classroom as he was named to the Rensselaer Dean’s List all four years and was on the 2004 President’s List. He also was selected to the ECAC All-Academic Team during the 2003-04 season.

A native of Fairbault, Minn., Barr attended Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep school and was awarded the Williams Cup for best all-around athlete in 2000.

Cronin shoots down rumors of departure from Northeastern

Northeastern hockey coach Greg Cronin denied an unconfirmed report on Wednesday that he was leaving his position with the Huskies to take an unspecified job in the American Hockey League.

This was first reported by Boston Herald college hockey reporter John Connolly.

Cronin was tracked down in Innsbruck, Austria, where he was traveling with Team USA while en route to the world championships in Slovakia as an assistant coach.

“I have no idea where it’s coming from,” Cronin said in an interview. “I have nothing to comment on.”

Cronin’s reported move to the AHL appeared in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (N.D.) in a story about Vinny Saponari transferring to Northeastern.

In February, Cronin and his top assistant coach Albie O’Connell were suspended for NCAA violations relating to “excessive telephone and text message contact with prospective recruits,” but were reinstated after three weeks.

Sebastien Laplante, who led NU during Cronin’s absence, will serve an equal six-game suspension at the start of the 2011-12 season.

BREAKING from Northeastern: Saponari in, Cronin out?

According to Ryan S. Clark on Twitter, former Boston University forward Vinny Saponari will skate at Northeastern University next season.

“My academics passed through and that’s where I am going to be next year,” Saponari told Clark. “They have a strong crew coming back. I took a visit there, met some of their players and I felt accepted.”

After being dismissed from BU almost one year ago (last May), Saponari showed interest in transferring to Boston College, but was denied before the start of the 2010-11 season. He joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League and recorded an 18-46-64 line through 56 games as an assistant captain.

With the Saints, Saponari was a teammate of John Gaudreau, a Northeastern commit that was named the USHL Rookie of the Year last week. He was joined on the All-Rookie Team by Dubuque teammate and Maine commit Matt Morris.

Also mentioned in the story is that current Huskies head coach Greg Cronin “is expected to leave the program to take a coaching position in the American Hockey League.” Cronin has enjoyed some prior success in the AHL, compiling a 78-61-16-5 record in two seasons (2003-05) as the head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

It is believed that there is an opening to re-join the Sound Tigers (Islanders) or take over the Providence Bruins, but no other openings or possibilities have been rumored.

Ryan S. Clark is a reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead where covers the USHL, the Fargo Force and Minnesota high school hockey. You can follow his blog, Slightly Chilled, for the latest on the developing story and other Western hockey news.

Penrose winner Leaman tabbed as new head coach at Providence

The following is a press release from Providence College:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Providence College President Reverend Brian Shanley, O.P. and Athletics Director Bob Driscoll announced today the appointment of Nate Leaman as the head men’s hockey coach at the College. Leaman, who becomes the 12th head coach at Providence College, comes to PC after spending the last eight seasons as the head coach at Union College. Leaman will be formally introduced at a news conference on Tuesday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. at the College’s Concannon Fitness Center conference room.

Leaman’s 2011 Union squad posted an impressive 26-10-4 mark, captured the College’s first Cleary Cup (ECAC regular season champion) and earned its first NCAA Division I tournament berth. Union’s season came to end when it was defeated by eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth, 2-0, in the 2011 NCAA East Regional Semifinal. The Dutchmen went 14-1-1 in their final 16 regular season games to clinch the league title. Union had the top power play in the nation as it posted a 29.5 percent success rate. In addition, the team allowed just 2.10 goals per game, which ranked second in the nation. For his efforts, Leaman received the 2011 Spencer Penrose Award as the Division I Men’s Coach of the Year and the ECAC Coach of Year honors for the second straight season.

“We are thrilled to have Nate Leaman coming to Providence College to coach our men’s hockey team,” Father Shanley said. “I believe he is the type of person who can lead our student-athletes and build our program.”

In eight seasons at Union, Leaman’s teams posted a 138-127-35 mark. His 138 wins are the most of any of the 14 head coaches in school history. He also posted the highest winning percentage (.518) of a Union head coach. Leaman has guided Union to four consecutive winning seasons. In 2009-10, the team posted a 21-12-6 record, finished third place in the ECAC regular season and was the ECAC Tournament runner up. During his tenure at Union, Leaman coached 91 All-ECAC Academic selections, 12 All-ECAC players, six All-ECAC Rookie selections, three ECAC Student-Athletes of the Year and two CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honorees. In his career behind the bench, Leaman has coached 16 NHL draft picks, five All-Americans and one Hobey Baker finalist.

“I believe Nate Leaman has all the qualities necessary to put Providence College hockey in a position to be one of the top teams in HOCKEY EAST,” Driscoll said. “Having started my career at Union College, I have complete respect for what Nate was able to accomplish and build with the Dutchmen. Most importantly, Nate deserves full credit for everything he got done at Union, as he did it with a lot of hard work and perseverance.”

Leaman also served as an assistant coach with USA Hockey for the US World Junior Team in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, he helped lead the team to a Bronze Medal in Leksand, Sweden.

Prior to taking the Union position, Leaman spent four seasons as an assistant coach for Mark Mazzoleni at Harvard, where he was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator during his final season. Leaman helped rebuild the Harvard program into one of the top teams in the ECAC, taking the squad from eighth place in the league to an ECAC tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2001-2002, and an ECAC runner-up finish and NCAA appearance in 2002-2003. During his four years on the Harvard coaching staff, Leaman had a hand in recruiting 13 NHL draft picks, and helped the program to be consistently ranked near the top of college hockey in the number of players with NHL rights.

Prior to joining the staff in Cambridge, Leaman served as a volunteer assistant coach under Shawn Walsh at the University of Maine in 1998-99. In helping guide Maine to a 31-6-4 record and the 1999 NCAA Championship, Leaman’s responsibilities included working with the Black Bears’ defense, video analysis, on-campus recruiting and monitoring of the players’ academic progress. While in Orono, Leaman earned a Master of Science degree in biological sciences in 1999.

Before joining the staff at Maine, Leaman served as associate coach for one season at Old Town High School in Old Town, Maine, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of team practices and bench management during games.

Leaman is a 1997 graduate of SUNY Cortland, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences with a concentration in environmental science and received the Aldo Leopold Award for excellence in environmental science. Captain of the hockey team as a junior and senior, Leaman finished his career as one of the top-20 scorers in Red Dragons’ history.

Prior to attending Cortland, Leaman spent a season with the Enkoping Sports Klubb in Enkoping, Sweden, and also played one year with the Indianapolis Junior Ice in the North American Junior Hockey League.

A native of Centerville, Ohio, Leaman and his wife, Alice, have one son.

The news conference on Tuesday, May 3 is open to all Providence College fans and media. The doors to Concannon Fitness Center conference room will open at 2:45 p.m. for fans and the media.

Welcome (back) to UMass-Lowell, Norm Bazin!

The following is a press release from the UMass-Lowell Athletic Department:

Norm Bazin, who played at UMass Lowell from 1990-94 and served as an assistant coach from 1996-2000, was named the sixth head coach in the ice hockey program’s history Thursday, announced Director of Athletics Dana Skinner.

Bazin was introduced to the University campus and community this afternoon at a press conference at the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center.

He returns to the University following three successful seasons as head coach at Hamilton College, preceded by eight years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado College.

“Norm Bazin brings great passion not just for the hockey program, but for the University as well,” said University Chancellor Martin T. Meehan. “We believe he can recruit top-quality talent, develop that talent, and raise the bar of expectation at UMass Lowell. In addition, Norm’s past experiences as a student and a coach demonstrate clearly that he places education at the center of the college experience.”

Bazin replaces Blaise MacDonald, who resigned at the end of the 2010-11 season after 10 years.

“UMass Lowell is my alma mater and it has a special place in my heart,” Bazin said. “Hockey East is one of the premier conferences in the country. I was impressed with the dynamic changes Chancellor Meehan and Dana Skinner have made. The energy and the improvements have been tremendous.”

Bazin inherits a program which struggled to a 5-25-4 record (4-21-2 in Hockey East) last year but is expected to return 24 players for the 2011-12 season.

“I think the long term potential for the program is the ability to compete for the three major championships,” Bazin noted, referring to the Hockey East regular season, tournament and NCAA championships. “Secondly, I think we have a first class facility, a world-class university, a loyal fan base and a solid hockey foundation in terms of support from our administration and staff.”