Brad Holt of Dover, N.H., has been named head men’s ice hockey coach at the University of New England. UNE Director of Athletics Kim Allen made the official announcement this morning.
Holt brings a diverse hockey background to the position. Currently, he serves as coach and on-ice director of The Clinic hosted by Bowdoin College, having worked for that organization in different capacities since 1977.
From 1980 until 1982, he was a player and coach for the Ishockey Klub of Aalborg, Denmark. While there, he won a First Division National Championship, earning him Coach of the Year honors.
His other experiences include being the head coach at New Hampton Prep (1996-2001), assistant coach at Colby College (1980), coach and arena manager for the Oyster River Youth Hockey Association (1985-1995), and head coach for the Green Mountain Glades of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (2001-2006). This past hockey season, Holt served as a game official and referee evaluator for Hockey East.
A 1979 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Holt was a three-year letter winner and played on two NCAA Final Four squads. After graduation he played for the Dayton Gems in the Washington Capitals organization.
Holt will help UNE bring back an ice hockey program that enjoyed a great deal of success in the late 1970’s, winning three consecutive NAIA District 5 championships when the University was known as St. Francis College.
The team, which will start at a pre-varsity level, will commence competition during the 2007-2008 academic year and will become a full-fledged varsity program in the 2010-2011 academic year. The Nor’easters will play and practice at Biddeford Ice Arena.
“Brad has a tremendous amount of passion and energy for the sport of hockey,” said Allen. “We are all excited to bring back the program and hope to build it to a level of success achieved by the St. Francis teams of the late ’70’s.”
