Eleven coaches have been named finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the top NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey coach of the year. To be a finalist for this award, you must either be voted Coach of the Year in your conference or take your team to the NCAA Frozen Four.
Noteworthy among this year’s finalists:
• Five former Penrose Award winners, including Rick Comley of Michigan State (1980 and 1991 winner at Northern Michigan); Joe Marsh of St. Lawrence (1989 and 2000 winner); Dick Umile of New Hampshire (1999 winner); Tim Whitehead of Maine (2002 winner); and Jerry York of Boston College (1977 winner at Clarkson).
• Three coaches each from Hockey East and the WCHA. Three are NCAA semifinalists (North Dakota’s Dave Hakstol, Maine’s Whitehead and BC’s York); three were conference Coach of the Year winners (Hockey East’s Umile and WCHA Co-Coaches Bob Motzko of St. Cloud and Jamie Russell of Michigan Tech.)
• Army’s Brian Riley and Niagara’s Dave Burkholder are repeat finalists from a year ago.
• Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson, in his second year at Notre Dame, is a finalist for the first time in over a decade. (He was at Lake Superior in the early 1990s.)
The award is named in honor of the former Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA hockey championships. It will be presented at the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Coach of the Year Banquet on Saturday, April 28, in Naples, Fla.
Spencer Penrose Finalists
Dave Burkholder, Niagara*
Rick Comley, Michigan State#@
Dave Hakstol, North Dakota#
Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame*
Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence*@
Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State*
Brian Riley, Army*
Jamie Russell, Michigan Tech*
Dick Umile, New Hampshire*@
Tim Whitehead, Maine#@
Jerry York, Boston College#@
* Conference Coach of the Year
# NCAA “Frozen Four” Participant
@ Previous Winner of the Spencer Penrose Award
