2018 Middlebury Panther Coaching Profile: Neil Sinclair

Transcription

1 2018 Middlebury Panther Coaching Profile: Neil Sinclair Sinclair took over the reins of the men s hockey program in the spring of He came to Middlebury from Skidmore, where he served in the same role for 10 seasons. The former Panther All-American was Middlebury s interim head coach in , after serving three seasons as an assistant coach for long-time head coach Bill Beaney. Sinclair is just the fourth men s hockey coach at Middlebury since Sinclair spent 10 seasons behind the bench at Skidmore. In his second season with the Thoroughbreds, his team finished third in the ECAC East/NESCAC interlock and hosted a first-round postseason tournament game. Sinclair led the team to the ECAC semifinals three times and was named the league s Coach of the Year in He was also a finalist for the Edward Jeremiah Award as the National Coach of the Year. While at Skidmore, Sinclair obtained his Master of Arts degree in As part of his master s work, Sinclair published a piece in The International Journal of Sports and Society titled Building a Collegiate Athletic Leadership Model for NCAA Teams, which he wrote with Tim Harper and Jeff Segrave in As a player at Middlebury, the senior defenseman was a first-team All-American and ECAC selection in He began his coaching career at Middlebury Union High School, leading the team to the 1996 State Championship. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from , serving as the team s interim head coach in while Beaney was on sabbatical. That season, Sinclair guided the team to a record with a trip to the NCAA final four. The Panthers also finished first in the NESCAC and advanced to the league s championship game. Following the season, he was again named a finalist for the Edward Jeremiah Award. The following season, Sinclair moved to Williams College, where he served as head coach of the women s hockey program for two seasons prior to arriving at Skidmore. Sinclair is an active member of USA Hockey and has worked the National Festival at the level for the boys and the National 14 Festival for the girls. He has been a speaker at USA Hockey Programs of Merit and numerous coaching symposia for the New England and New York districts. He has also served on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee.

2 2018 SUNY Plattsburgh Coaching Profile: Bob Emery Entering his 30th season behind the Plattsburgh State bench , Bob Emery has established himself as one of the nation's top head coaches in all of NCAA college men's ice hockey. His résumé speaks for itself: two national championships, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including nine trips to the Division III semifinals, 16 State University of New York Athletic Conference championships and 22 All-Americans. Emery's career record makes him the winningest coach in the program's storied history, and his.733 winning percentage ranks in the top five all-time in the NCAA, including third among active Division III coaches. Emery's teams have won 20 games in a season 16 times, including a campaign in 1992 when Plattsburgh captured its first NCAA title with him at the helm. The Cardinals recorded a trifecta of championships that season, adding crowns in the ECAC West Division and SUNYAC. Since Emery took over the Plattsburgh reins in 1990, he has amassed over 60 percent of the program's victories in the 44-year history as a varsity sport. Arguably the most decorated coach in the SUNYAC with 16 league championships in 28 tournament appearances, Emery has mentored six SUNYAC Players of the Year, nine SUNYAC Rookies of the Year, 14 SUNYAC Tournament MVPs and more than 100 All-SUNYAC and conference all-tournament selections. The Cardinals have won 13 of the last 22 SUNYAC championships, which included a six-year string of titles from 1997 to Emery was a 10th-round pick and No. 208 overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1982 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Instead of signing professionally after high school, he became a Hockey East All-Star and alternate captain by his senior year at Boston College. During his four years there, the Eagles made three NCAA Division I Tournament appearances and won the prestigious Beanpot Championship in After his college playing career, Emery was invited to the Montreal Canadiens' training camp. Then he joined the Quebec Nordiques organization and played for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Fredericton Express, for one season, and ended his professional career with the Boston Bruins' minor league affiliate, the Maine Mariners.

3 2018 Norwich University Coaching Profile: Cam Ellsworth Cam Ellsworth was named the 11th head coach in Norwich University men's ice hockey history on July 16, Ellsworth replaced the legendary Mike McShane, who led the Cadets to four national championships in his 23 years at the helm of the program. The Leamington, Ontario native has spent the last seven years as an assistant coach at Division I UMass Lowell under Norm Bazin, including the last two years as the Associate Head Coach. "I am extremely humbled and honored to be the next head men's ice hockey coach at Norwich University," Ellsworth said. "I would like to thank the search committee and the leadership at Norwich University for their confidence in me. My wife Julie, son Asher and daughter Addyson are excited to integrate into the Norwich community and get started." Ellsworth has been one of the driving forces behind UMass Lowell's rapid ascension to the top of the Division I hockey world, including winning three Hockey East Tournament titles. UMass Lowell made five NCAA Tournament appearances in Ellsworth's seven seasons, highlighted by a third-place finish in UMass Lowell won 21 or more games in six of seven seasons, including a 19-win difference (five to 24) in Ellsworth's first season in with Norm Bazin. The season was the best season in UMass Lowell's 34-year history at the Division I level. The River Hawks went , swept the Hockey East regular season and tournament titles, as well as made the only Division I Frozen Four appearance in program history. Ellsworth joined the River Hawks after spending 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. In his three seasons with Sioux City, Ellsworth recruited or coached 10 players drafted by the NHL and another 43 who committed to Division I hockey programs. Ellsworth graduated from Michigan Tech with a B.S. in Business Administration in He was a four-year letter winner with the Huskies from , where he still ranks as the program's all-time leader in games played (117) and saves (3,510). He graduated in May 2017 from UMass Lowell with a master's degree in Business with a concentration in managerial leadership.

4 2018 Adrian College Coaching Profile: Adam Krug Adam Krug '12, who became the second head coach in the history of the Adrian College men's hockey program on July 7, 2014, enters his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater with the start of the season. AT ADRIAN Compiled a (.798) overall mark, four NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship appearances, four Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Peters Cup regular-season titles, two Harris Cup championships and mentored eight different All-Americans (10 citations). Conference record is for an.888 winning percentage. Last season, Krug received his second NCHA Coach of the Year nod, guiding Adrian to its fourth Peters Cup crown in a row, sixth-straight NCAA tournament appearance, No. 1 national ranking in both final regular-season polls and coaching three All-Americans. In , Adrian received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the "final four" in Utica, N.Y., for the third time in six years. In , Adrian captured the NCHA Peters Cup and Harris Cup titles again en route to a ledger and the NCHA South Division crown with a record NCHA Coach of the Year in his first season as Adrian posts a overall record, reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, and finishing third in both national ranking polls. Six players have inked professional contracts. NCHA/INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES UNDER COACH KRUG senior team captain Mathew Thompson is voted the NCHA Player of the Year and signs a pro contract with Indy Fuel, who are the "AA" ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. That same season, Cory Dunn becomes the first Bulldog ever to garner three CCM All-America awards from the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). Dunn and Thompson were both finalists for the 2018 AHCA Sid Watson Award for national player of the year in Division III. Senior Taylor McCloy also garnered All-America to give Adrian a team-record-tying three players in In , senior defenseman Michael Hoy became the first Bulldog hockey player to garner College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Men's At-Large Division III Third Team accolades. That same season, Dunn (First Team) and Trevor Boyd (Second Team) are named AHCA All- Americans. Four Bulldogs were named to the 2017 All-NCHA Team, and two placed on the all-rookie team including Rookie of the Year Vincent Paquette. Coached 2016 USCHO.com Rookie of the Year Connor Armour among a NCHA-leading four allconference standouts and seven academic all-conference honorees. Also in 2016, freshman defenseman Cory Dunn was a consensus All-America pick and senior blueliner Chris Leone made the AHCA All-America First Team and D3hockey.com Second Team. Coached a team-record three AHCA All-Americans (Kyle Brothers and Josh Ranalli, both First Team; Ryan Gieseler, Second Team), five NCHA academic all-conference honorees and six Bulldogs who were cited on the all-conference and/or NCHA all-rookie teams during the season. PRIOR TO CURRENT POSITION Served as the assistant coach, then associate head coach of the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League from Helped the Ice capture the Clark Cup championship awarded to the Tier I Junior A national champions.

5 The Ice also won the Eastern Conference regular season title. Under Krug s guidance, the Ice had over 30 players earn a NCAA Division I scholarship playing opportunity and four of the players were drafted by the National Hockey League. PROFESSIONAL PLAYING CAREER Krug joined the Indiana Ice coaching staff after a four-year professional hockey career across the United States and in Europe. Started with the East Coast Hockey League's Cincinnati Cyclones, a minor league affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Had a one-year stint with the Nijmegen Devils in the Netherlands. While on the Devils' roster, Krug led the team in points (68) and assists (43). After returning from Europe, Krug spent time with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. COLLEGIATE PLAYING CAREER Team captain for the Bulldogs in their inaugural season of and he also played the following season. Transferred from Division I Wayne State University in Detroit before joining the Bulldogs as a junior, scoring 42 points in 67 career games for the Warriors in and ' At Adrian, named a 2008 second-team All-American in the West Region when he set Adrian and Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association single-season record with 77 points. Led NCAA D-III in scoring at 2.66 points per game and was named 2008 MCHA Player of the Year. Followed that up with the sixth-best scoring season at Adrian College with 52 points including 22 goals and 30 assists in Ranked fifth in NCAA Division III in scoring at 1.86 points per game and was selected first-team All- MCHA (the forerunner of the NCHA) as a senior in In just two seasons at Adrian, Krug ranks seventh all-time in school history with 129 points, seventh with 52 goals, sixth with 20 power play goals and ninth with 77 assists.