ST. LOUIS — The 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four begins Thursday with the national semifinals.
Denver plays Western Michigan at 4 p.m. CT at Enterprise Center. The second game between Boston University and Penn State is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Both games are on ESPN2 and ESPN+ for subscribers, with John Buccigross, Colby Cohen and Quint Kessenich on the call.
Westwood One has rights to radio broadcasts; Brian Tripp, Dave Starman and Shireen Saski are the voices. The broadcasts are on SiriusXM Channel 84.
USCHO coverage
Read and watch USCHO’s coverage leading into the Frozen Four in the links below.
Practice Day at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four at Enterprise Center in St. Louis (photo: Jim Rosvold)
ST. LOUIS — The crew from USCHO Weekend Review – Ed Trefzger, Jim Connelly and Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley kicked things off in St. Louis on Wednesday, joined by St. Lawrence coach Brent Brekke.
Watch Wednesday’s broadcast here:
USCHO will be live from the Frozen Four each day and will have pregame preview and postgame analysis with Schooley, Brekke and Arizona State coach Greg Powers.
Denver blueliner Boston Buckberger has been watching the 2025 NCAA tournament from the sidelines (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Denver sophomore defenseman Boston Buckberger has been named the recipient of the NCAA’s Elite 90 award for scholastic achievement at the 2025 Division I men’s ice hockey championship.
Buckberger is an accounting major in DU’s Daniels College of Business and carries a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average. He was presented with the Elite 90 award following Denver’s practice on Wednesday at Enterprise Center ahead of the 2025 NCAA Frozen Four.
Founded by the NCAA, the Elite 90 award recognizes the spirit of a student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically that have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
The Saskatoon, Sask., native is the ninth overall Denver student-athlete to earn the Elite 90 award and the fourth member of the hockey program. Buckberger joins teammate Kent Anderson, who earned the accolade last season, as well as Gabe Levin in 2016 and Erich Fear in 2019 as Pioneer hockey players to pick up the honor.
He is the second DU student-athlete in 2024-25 to earn the Elite 90, as men’s soccer’s A.J. Francois was also awarded it during the NCAA College Cup in December in Cary, N.C. The University of Denver is the third institution to have three or more Elite 90 winners since Jan. 1, 2024, joining Arizona State and Oklahoma State.
A two-time member of the NCHC academic all-conference team and an NCHC distinguished scholar-athlete in each of his first two collegiate seasons, Buckberger was also recognized as an AHCA national all-American scholar and a Collegiate Sports Communicator’s academic all-district team member in 2023-24 (this season’s awards will be released later this summer).
On the ice, the defenseman has recorded career highs in 2024-25 with 30 points, ranking third among Pioneer defensemen in both goals (nine) and assists (21). Prior to suffering a season-ending, upper-body injury on March 22 against Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game, Buckberger had played in all 41 contests and had scored three goals in his previous five outings and registered 14 points in his last 13 games (five goals, nine assists).
He also added 36 blocked shots, 22 penalty minutes and was leading the team with a plus-30 plus-minus rating prior to getting hurt. Buckberger had played in each of the first 85 games of his collegiate career before missing the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinals versus Providence on March 28 due to his injury.
Brendan Riley was part of AIC’s Atlantic Hockey championship in 2022 (photo: American International Athletics).
The Riley family will continue coaching at Long Island.
The Sharks named Brendan Riley the team’s new head coach Wednesday after his cousin Brett moved from LIU to the head coaching job at Ferris State.
Brendan Riley, whose father Brian is finishing up a 21-year stay as coach at Army West Point, has been an assistant coach at American International for the last three seasons. This will be his first head coaching role.
“I am excited to get started and can’t wait to hit the ground running this spring,” Brendan Riley said. “There is a great opportunity here to capitalize on the momentum of last season and to carry on the culture that was built by Brett.”
The Sharks won 20 games for the first time in 2024-25.
Brendan Riley played four seasons at Mercyhurst before serving as an assistant coach at a prep school for a season and then joining AIC as director of hockey operations in 2021.
Denver, Western Michigan, Penn State and Boston University are ready for the Frozen Four (photo: Jim Rosvold).
ST. LOUIS — It’s business as usual for Penn State and Western Michigan, two newcomers to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.
At least that’s what they hope.
It’s hard to know for sure until things get going on semifinal Thursday and players and coaches get a taste of the full experience.
Western Michigan will feel it first in a 4 p.m. CT game against NCHC counterpart Denver, and Penn State will appear on college hockey’s big stage afterward against Boston University.
The matchups are Frozen Four first-timers against seasoned veterans, and the debutants are trying to look at it in the simplest terms possible.
“It’s our philosophy that it’s business as usual,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “I know that’s a little bit harder to execute with the lights on but I think it’s something the team talked about and we understand pretty well.”
It’s the first Frozen Four with multiple first-timers since 2013, when St. Cloud State, UMass Lowell and Quinnipiac all were bested by Yale.
It has been 37 years since a team has done what Western Michigan and Penn State are trying to this week: win the NCAA title in their first Frozen Four appearance.
Lake Superior State defeated Maine and St. Lawrence in Lake Placid, N.Y., for the 1988 championship. It was its first time in the semifinals but it launched a run of success: The Lakers also won in 1992 and 1994 around a runner-up finish in 1993.
Since that 1988 tournament, 15 teams have made a Frozen Four debut. Six have won their semifinal — Colgate in 1990, Notre Dame in 2008, Miami in 2009, Ferris State in 2012, Quinnipiac in 2013 and UMass in 2019 — but none has won the championship.
Western Michigan and Penn State will be the 42nd and 43rd teams to play in a Frozen Four. Of the 41 already in the club, only four won the title in their first try. Only Lake Superior State has done it since the NCAA tournament field expanded beyond four teams in 1977. The others were Michigan in the inaugural 1948 event, Denver in 1958 and Cornell in 1967.
The last first-time entrant was Minnesota State in 2021, and then-Mavericks coach Mike Hastings turned to those who had been to the Frozen Four before for advice on how to handle it.
Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin acknowledged to Hastings being more comfortable the second time he took a team than the first but offered a suggestion that living in the moment was critical.
“Yes, the moment is different because it’s the Frozen Four, the lights are a little brighter,” said Hastings, now the coach at Wisconsin. “But you’ve had some first-time accomplishments. Don’t hold onto those. They’ll still be there when you’re done. Move onto the next one. If you get caught looking in the rear-view mirror at what just happened for the first time, you’ll lose the opportunity for the next one.”
Western Michigan’s Pat Ferschweiler made similar calls in the last week and a half since the Broncos clinched their spot in the semifinals with a 2-1 win over UMass in the Fargo Regional final on March 29.
Playing in the Frozen Four is a “big-time experience,” he said, and needs to be enjoyed as such. But there’s a time to lock in.
“I think a superpower of this team so far this year has been staying in the moment,” Ferschweiler said. “Be 100% every day, right here. And that means great practices, a singular focus on Thursday’s game, not get ahead of ourselves and certainly not look back because we know we can’t change the past. Being present has been a great thing for this team. We’re going to continue to do that.”
There’s another element of Frozen Four preparation that applies to everyone, regardless of whether it’s the first time there or the third straight season (as it is for Boston University) or third in four years (as it is for Denver): the bye week in the middle.
Denver coach David Carle said experience has helped him and his staff dial in how to handle the extra time, especially as it relates to recovery. He credited the team’s sports science staff led by Matt Shaw for crafting the plan to recover from the regional and ramp up toward the trip to St. Louis.
“The first time going through it you’re more shooting from the hip, and now there’s a bit of a knowledge base behind it and a comfort level behind it,” Carle said.
Boston University coach Jay Pandolfo said there’s no “magic recipe” to overcome the time off. Keeping focused is one of the biggest challenges.
“It’s a bit of a tough task this time of year when you’re on a high that you were on coming off the regionals and knowing you have to practice for 10 days,” he said. “It’s not fun for anyone.”
<i>This</i> part of it is fun, especially for those who’ve never experienced it before. Penn State got to regional finals in 2017 and 2023 before finally reaching a Frozen Four. Western Michigan was a step away in 1986 and 2022.
“We’ve been there in the tournament, had some success a couple years back,” Broncos forward Tim Washe said. “But it feels great breaking through there and getting a chance to be here.”
ST. LOUIS — Frozen Four newcomer Penn State got its first taste of the event Wednesday with a practice before it faces Boston University in Thursday’s semifinals. Here’s how it looked.
Wayne Wilson had a 471-337-82 record over 26 seasons at RIT (photo: RIT Athletics).
Wayne Wilson, the winningest coach in Rochester Institute of Technology history, announced his retirement Wednesday. It’s expected that a successor will be announced in the coming days.
The only coach in NCAA history to win the Spencer Penrose Award as Division I Coach of the Year and the Edward Jeremiah Award for Division III coaches, Wilson guided RIT to four Atlantic Hockey America playoff championships, six regular-season titles, and four Division I NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2010 Frozen Four in the school’s fifth year at the Division I level.
“After 40 years of coaching, it’s bittersweet to announce my retirement,” said Wilson. “I don’t know if there is ever a good time to retire but I feel that it’s the right time for me.
“There are countless people to thank for making coaching college hockey such a great job for so many years. I truly enjoyed coming to work every day to push teams and players to reach their goals. I couldn’t have done that without great assistants and players who were all committed to being their best.”
Wilson captained Bowling Green to the 1984 national championship and later served as an assistant coach at New Hampshire and BGSU before taking the reins at RIT in 1999. He guided the Tigers from the Division III ranks to Divsion I in 2005, compiling a combined record of 471-337-82 during his 26 seasons behind the bench.
“Coach Wilson had a profound impact on RIT Hockey,” said RIT executive athletic director Jacqueline Nicholson. “Few coaches can say they directed a program through a transformation like he did, but an even smaller number can boast the same level of success he was able to sustain at the highest level of competition.”
Wilson coached 13 All-Americans during his tenure, including Hobey Baker Award finalists Simon Lambert (2007-08) and Matt Garbowsky (2014-15). Thirty-six of Wilson’s players totaled 55 Atlantic Hockey all-conference honors including three players of the year. Eleven of his players were also named AHA all-rookie team members, including Chris Tanev in 2010, who went on to become the first player in program history to play in the NHL, appearing in over 850 career games since.
“I want to thank my former coaches at Bowling Green, Jerry York, Bill Wilkinson, Buddy Powers and the late Terry Flanagan, for instilling the fire in me to coach,” said Wilson. “I would also like to thank Bowling Green, New Hampshire and RIT for giving me the opportunity to coach, especially RIT executive athletic directors Lou Spiotti and Jackie Nicholson for their support and all they provided me and my family.”
ST. LOUIS — Boston University was the third team on the Enterprise Center ice Wednesday as it prepared to face Penn State in Thursday’s semifinals of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.
ST. LOUIS — Here’s a look at some of Denver’s practice at Enterprise Center on Wednesday, the day before the Pioneers play Western Michigan in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four semifinals.
Curry head coach Peter Roundy led the Colonels to the CNE title and top seed in the NCAA tournament (Photo by Curry Athletics)
While the bid for the national championship fell just short in Utica last weekend, the Curry Colonels achieved significant milestones as a program including the CNE regular season title, the CNE tournament title where thy defeated three-time champion, Endicott, the top-seed in the NCAA tournament and a quarterfinal win over Hamilton that earned the Colonels their very first Frozen Four appearance. For all this accomplishments and a record 25-win season, Peter Roundy is the USCHO D-III Coach of the Year.
“Coach Roundy’s impact on our Men’s Ice Hockey Program goes far beyond X’s & O’s, said Curry Athletic Director Vinnie Eruzione. “He has continued building on a storied past. His passion for the game and the success of his hockey student-athletes are not just seen on the ice but in the community and the classroom. He exemplifies what it means to be a coach, a mentor, and the face of the program. He understands the importance of the student-athlete experience and is a great person to work with.”
Roundy led the Colonels to a 16-2-0 CNE conference record, a 15-2-0 record on home ice, a 10-1-0 record on the road and the one loss at a neutral site coming in the national semifinal where Utica won in double overtime, 2-1.
Congratulations to the USCHO D-III coach of the Year – Peter Roundy.
ST. LOUIS — Western Michigan was the first on the ice Wednesday at Enterprise Center as teams in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four practiced in advance of Thursday’s semifinals.
Curry’s Shane Soderwall led the Colonels to their first ever Frozen Four appearance while also earning the top seed in the tournament (Photo by Curry Athletics)
Sometimes the decisions on award winners are just fairly obvious. Case in point would be the current Player of the Year in the CNE; AHCA First Team All-American; Sid Watson Award winner; Joe Concannon Award winner and newly announced New England Hockey Writers’ D-II/III MVP in the person and goaltender that is Curry’s Shane Soderwall. Now he can add the USCHO D-III Payer of the year to the award haul that has been nothing less than his season excellence deserves.
Soderwall played in twenty-eight games for the Colonels going 24-4-0 on the season. He posted a 1.47 goals-against average with a .945 save percentage while recording eight shutouts. He led the Colonels to the CNE conference championship and overall top-seed for the national tournament where they lost in a national semifinal to Utica in double overtime, 2-1.
“Shane has always been a hard worker even after he took the crease as a starter, said head coach Peter Roundy. “He always practices like he is a back-up trying to earn time. He was our rock all season and gave us a chance to win every single game we played this season. He is deserving of his many awards, and it is great to see him recognized for his incredible and consistent play this season.”
Soderwall will depart Curry after his sophomore season to take his shot at a D-I crease with his transfer to Clarkson but will depart as one of the best ever to wear the purple and white for the Colonels in their long D-III history.
Later today look for the Coach of the Year announcement to wrap-up the USCHO D-III awards for the 2024-25 season.
Shane Soderwall was lights-out this season between the pipes for Curry (photo: Curry Athletics).
Shane Soderwall, a sophomore goaltender from Curry, is the recipient of the 2025 Sid Watson Award.
The award, voted on by the nation’s Division III head coaches, is presented to the best player at the men’s NCAA Division III level by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Soderwall is the first player from Curry to receive this award.
After making himself known with an NCAA record-tying 98 saves in an NCAA quarterfinals game last season, the Algonquin, Ill., native has taken his play to a new level his sophomore year. Soderwall broke his own program record for shutouts in a season with seven this year and now holds the program record for shutouts in a career with 12, doing so in just two years.
He broke the program record for wins in a season this year, currently sitting at a 24-3-0 record. His 1.45 GAA average is third in the country, with the two players in front of him playing 600 less minutes than him. His .945 save percentage is also third in the country, with the two ahead of him making half as many saves. He has proven himself to be one of, if not the best goalies in the country. This season he was named the CNE player and goalie of the year.
Additionally, he was named the conference’s Elite 20 winner, as he sports a perfect 4.0 GPA.
The runner-up for this year’s Sid Watson Award was Tanner Daniels, a junior forward from Hobart and Edinboro, Pa.
Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association, the Sid Watson Award honors the memory of former Bowdoin head coach and athletic director Sid Watson. A three-time AHCA Coach of the Year, Watson served Bowdoin for more than 30 years, winning 326 games in 24 seasons as head coach.
Peter Roundy has collected a slew of wins behind the Curry bench (photo: Curry Athletics).
For leading Curry to the top seed of the NCAA men’s Division III Frozen Four, Peter Roundy has been named winner of the 2025 Edward Jeremiah Award as the CCM/AHCA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year.
He is the first Curry coach to earn this honor and the first from the Conference of New England (formerly the Commonwealth Coast Conference.)
Named the conference coach of the year in each of the last two years, Roundy has taken the Curry men’s hockey team to new heights. Over his four years at Curry, he has gone 84-24-4, including a 60-16-2 record in conference play. He has led the Colonels to the NCAA quarterfinals in each of the past three seasons, finally breaking through to the Frozen Four this season.
This season, he has helped lead the program to new highs in all the prominent rankings and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed with a record of 25-3-0.
In addition to his coaching duties, at Curry, Roundy serves as a game administrator and scheduling coordinator.
Roundy came to Curry after spending six seasons coaching at Holy Cross, including two as associate head coach in his final two seasons.
Prior to his time at Holy Cross, Roundy spent four seasons at Trinity. He served as an assistant coach his first two seasons and as the Bantams associate head coach his final two seasons. During the four years that Roundy was at Trinity, the teams posted a 68-30-6 record.
Roundy started his coaching career at Becker, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Hawks in 2010-11. He helped guide the Hawks to a 7-4-3 mark against conference opponents and played a pivotal role in helping Becker complete one of the most successful seasons in the school’s history, as the team reached the conference semifinals for only the second time.
A native of Simsbury, Conn., Roundy earned a bachelor’s degree in health care administration with a minor in business administration from Stonehill in 2010. At Stonehill, Roundy was a four-year member and two-time captain of the hockey team, which won the 2007 Northeast-10 championship, the first in school history. He ranks among the top 10 assist leaders in Stonehill program history.
He earned his master’s degree in public policy studies at Trinity in 2013.
Roundy and his wife, Patrice, have two daughters, Elle and Shea.
Roundy was assisted this year by Mike Sones and Clayton Adams.
The runner-up for this year’s Jeremiah Award was Mark Taylor of Hobart, recipient of this award the last two seasons.
The Edward Jeremiah Award is named in honor of the great Dartmouth coach and was first presented in 1970.
Bailey Olson had a stellar 2024-25 season at UWRF (photo: Wisconsin-River Falls Athletics).
Bailey Olson, a senior forward from Wisconsin-River Falls, is the recipient of the 2025 Laura Hurd Award.
The award, voted on by the nation’s Division III head coaches, is presented to the best player at the NCAA women’s Division III level.
Olson is the fourth player from UWRF to be so honored and third in the past four seasons. That ties UWRF with Middlebury and Plattsburgh, each of whom has also had four recipients.
Olson, a senior co-captain from Willmar, Minn., has led the Falcons to a 24-3-2 overall record, winning the WIAC regular-season and the O’Brien Cup, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. UWRF advanced to the Frozen Four with a 4-1 win over Elmira in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Olson scored an unassisted goal in the second period which proved to be the game winner.
Olson was the 2024-25 WIAC player of the year and an all-WIAC first team honoree. She is the nation’s leading scorer with 56 points off 26 goals and 30 assists in 29 games. Next up for the Falcons is a home semifinal on Friday night against Augsburg.
The runner-up for this year’s Hurd Award is Lily Mortenson, a junior forward at Gustavus Adolphus.
The award is named in honor of former Elmira star Laura Hurd who died in a car accident shortly after graduation. Hurd was a four-time all-American who led Elmira to victory in the first NCAA Division III women’s tournament.
Liz Bauer had success this season behind the Augsburg bench (photo: Augsburg Athletics).
For leading her team to a 24-3-1 record heading into the semifinals of the NCAA Division III women’s tournament, Elizabeth Bauer of Augsburg has been chosen by her peers as the 2025 CCM/AHCA Women’s Division III Coach of the Year.
It is the first time that an Augsburg coach has been so honored and just the second MIAC coach to win the award.
Bauer was named the third head coach in the 30-season history of Augsburg women’s hockey in Sept. 2024. Inheriting a team that had lost seven players to graduation and had 11 first-year players and two transfers on its 25-player roster for this campaign, with just three seniors, Bauer led the Auggies to the MIAC regular-season and playoff championships in the 2024-25 season — both for the first time for the Auggies since 1999-2000 — and Augsburg’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III national tournament. Augsburg’s 24-3-1 overall record and 16-2-0 MIAC marks are both program records.
She will receive her award at the AHCA Convention on May 5 in Bonita Springs, Fla.
Bauer served as the full-time assistant coach at Augsburg in the 2023-24 season, as the Auggies finished 19-7-0 overall and 15-3-0 in MIAC play. Prior to coming to Augsburg, Bauer spent two seasons as girls’ hockey director for MAP Hockey, an elite off-season training center for hockey players in the Twin Cities. She also spent a year as a sports performance trainer and facility director at St. Croix Acceleration, a training center in Hudson, Wis. From 2020 to 2023, she was an assistant coach for the U16 girls team for Team Wisconsin Hockey.
Bauer played her collegiate hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she helped lead the Blugolds to their first three national tournament berths, two WIAC O’Brien Cup tournament championships, and one WIAC championship, while posting an overall record of 80-26-9. Scoring 37 career goals and adding 66 assists for 103 total points, Bauer holds the Blugolds’ record for assists and ranks second in school history in points.
In 2019-20, Bauer was named a team captain and earned a spot on the American Hockey Coaches Association/CCM Hockey Division III All-America second team. She earned All-WIAC first team honors three times and honorable mention honors once and was an AHCA Division III all-American scholar in 2019-20.
Bauer has four siblings, including a twin sister Emily who played with her at UW-Eau Claire. Her brother played hockey at Minnesota-Crookston, and her father has been a high school hockey coach in Wisconsin for more than 30 years. A native of Wausau, Wis., Bauer earned her bachelor’s degree with a major in kinesiology and a minor in coaching from UW-Eau Claire in 2020.
Bauer was assisted this year by Nicole Neuberger and Annie Rydel.
The runner-up for this year’s award was last year’s recipient, Joe Cranston of UW-River Falls.
Pat Ferschweiler is in his fourth season as Western Michigan’s head coach (photo: Western Michigan Athletics).
After leading the Broncos to a historic season, Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler has been named the recipient of the 2025 Spencer Penrose Award, presented annually to the CCM/AHCA Division I men’s hockey national coach of the year.
Ferschweiler garners the honor for the first time and becomes the first WMU head coach to claim the award.
Ferschweiler is also only the third NCHC coach to earn the Penrose Award, joining former North Dakota coach Brad Berry, who won the award in 2020, and former Denver coach Jim Montgomery, who took home the honor in 2017. Ferschweiler will be presented with his award in person at the 2025 AHCA Convention held at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, Fla., on May 4.
Along with the Spencer Penrose Award, Ferschweiler earned his second NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year honor in 2025, also winning it in 2023.
The native of Rochester, Minn. has overseen an unprecedented season at Western Michigan, leading the Broncos to their first-ever Penrose Cup and NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship. WMU became only the second NCHC team to win both the regular-season and postseason titles in the same year.
Ferschweiler has guided the Broncos to a 32-7-1 record so far this season, with the 32 wins the most in the country and tying the WMU school record. The Broncos also tied the NCHC record for conference wins with 19 (19-4-1) this year en route to their first Penrose Cup. Western Michigan added another first at the end of March by earning the program’s first Frozen Four berth after winning the NCAA Fargo Regional. Ferschweiler steered the Broncos to a pair of 2-1 NCAA tournament wins in Fargo, tripling the program’s NCAA tournament win total after entering with only one all-time.
Ferschweiler and WMU will face a familiar foe in the NCAA Frozen Four this Thursday in St. Louis, going up against NCHC rival Denver, who the Broncos beat in double overtime to win their first NCHC Frozen Faceoff title on March 22. That win was the 100th of Ferschweiler’s head coaching career, becoming the fastest WMU head coach to reach the century mark. Puck drop Thursday at the Frozen Four is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT from the Enterprise Center.
Ferschweiler was the lone Spencer Penrose Award finalist among the 10 this year to win both his conference’s coach of the year award and lead his team to the Frozen Four. Denver coach David Carle was also a Penrose Award finalist this year. Ferschweiler was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award in 2023 as well. The Bronco alumnus is in his fourth year at the helm of Western Michigan after taking over the head job on Aug. 3, 2021.
Before becoming head coach, Ferschweiler spent two seasons as an associate head coach with the Broncos (2019-21). It was his second stint with WMU after he spent four years as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings under former WMU head coach Jeff Blashill. Prior to entering the professional coaching ranks, Ferschweiler was an assistant coach/associate head coach for WMU from 2010 to 2014.
As a player, Ferschweiler suited up for the Broncos in 116 games and amassed 95 points on 30 goals and 65 assists. He was awarded WMU’s Rob Hodge Most Valuable Player for the 1992-93 season in which he tallied 35 points, including a career-best 15 goals. He was also named the CCHA’s best defensive forward for the 1991-92 season. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Western Michigan in 1993.
The Spencer Penrose Award is selected by the nation’s 64 NCAA Division I men’s head coaches from the 10 finalists. To be a finalist, head coaches either won their conference coach of the year award or advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments. The NCHC’s regular-season trophy, the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, is named after the same benefactor and was won by Ferschweiler’s Broncos for the first time this year.
Eric Lang watches the action from behind the AIC bench during the 2018-19 season (photo: Omar Phillips).
Rensselaer has announced the hiring of Eric Lang as the Engineers’ men’s hockey head coach.
Lang, who replaces Dave Smith, comes to Troy, N.Y., after serving as the head coach at American International since 2016. Lang won 155 games at the helm of AIC and captured the Atlantic Hockey regular-season championship or postseason title seven times in his nine seasons.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for RPI hockey and our community. We are thrilled to welcome Eric as our new head coach,” said RPI director of athletics Dr. Kristie Bowers in a statement. “His commitment to building a culture of excellence and his proven track record of championship-level success will undoubtedly take our program back to the top of the ECAC. I am confident that under Eric’s leadership, our student-athletes will achieve success on the ice, in the classroom, and in the community. Please join me in welcoming Eric, his wife Christine, and his children, Addison, EJ, Reese, and Drew, to our RPI hockey family.”
“I am incredibly excited to embark on this new chapter with this team and this historic program,” added Lang. “We have a fantastic opportunity to build something special here and I am ready to lead our players to achieve great things. We have a championship administration that is serious about hockey and getting this program back to the top of the ECAC. We have a lot of work to do, and I cannot wait to get started.”
A former player at American International, Lang led his alma mater to the NCAA tournament on three occasions. In the program’s first-ever NCAA appearance in 2019, Lang guided the Yellow Jackets to a thrilling 2-1 victory over top-seeded St. Cloud State in the regional semifinals in Fargo, N.D.
AIC earned return trips to the NCAA tournament in 2021 and 2022 and were ranked No. 20 in the country and headed for another NCAA berth prior to the cancellation of the 2020 tournament.
Before taking the top job at American International, Lang spent five seasons as an assistant under Brian Riley at Army, where he led the recruiting efforts, video analysis, and power play development. Lang was also a graduate assistant at AIC and the head coach of the Manhattanville women’s hockey program prior to joining the Army bench.
Lang was a four-year letter-winner at AIC and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1998. He later earned his master’s degree in organizational development from AIC. A two-time captain, he was honored with the ECAC Merit Medal and the school’s Henry Butova Leadership Award. He scored 25 goals and recorded 34 assists during his time in a Yellow Jacket uniform.
Lang has also worked for the NHL as an off-ice official and was the head hockey coach for Byram Hills High School in Armonk, N.Y., for four seasons before joining the collegiate ranks.
A press conference introducing Lang is planned for 2 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 14 at the Houston Field House (1900 Peoples Ave, Troy, NY 12180). The event is open to the media and the public.
Bryn Chyzyk skates up ice as North Dakota plays Wisconsin in the 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati (photo: Rachel Lewis/USCHO.com).
North Dakota announced on Tuesday the hiring of Bryn Chyzyk as the program’s assistant coach/general manager.
Chyzyk becomes the first general manager to have coaching/recruiting capabilities in college hockey, as he will join the program following a successful run as the general manager of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks.
“I am so excited to welcome Bryn Chyzyk to our coaching staff,” said North Dakota coach Dane Jackson in a statement. “The relationships he has been able to develop across the entire landscape of hockey will help us find the right types of players we are looking for in our program at all levels of the game. His experience of winning a national championship and spending four seasons as a player at UND will also bring a special knowledge of our program that we hope can be infectious to our current and future student-athletes.”
“Thirteen years ago, I made one of the best decisions in my life to choose to play for UND,” added Chyzyk. “The relationships that were created throughout my time were so impactful in where my life is at today. My family and I couldn’t be more excited to come back to the UND community and I am ready to hit the ground running.”
Chyzyk has spent the previous five seasons with Waterloo, serving as the GM for the last four seasons. Over those years, he has helped the franchise reach the postseason in each of his years as the boss, including the only western conference team to finish among the top three in the last three campaigns. The Black Hawks are currently third once again in the conference standings with a record of 32-18-6-4 entering the final weekend of the regular season.
Prior to Waterloo, Chyzyk worked as a graduate assistant at North Dakota during the 2019-20 season, helping the program capture the Penrose Cup and finish as the No. 1 team in the nation with a 26-5-4 overall record prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. In his role, Chyzyk primarily assisted with hockey operations and evaluation of potential recruiting targets.
Chyzyk had a successful playing career as well, playing four seasons at North Dakota from 2012 to 2016. While at UND, he won two Penrose Cups, advanced to three straight NCAA Frozen Fours and captured the program’s eighth national title in 2015-16 while serving as an alternate captain. He finished his career with 24 goals and 23 assists for 47 points in 128 career games.
Following his collegiate career, Chyzyk played professional hockey at the AHL and ECHL level before having his playing career cut short due to an injury.
