St. Norbert College has announced that Mark Mazzoleni will be joining the staff of head coach Tim Coghlin for the upcoming season. A Green Bay, Wis. native, Mazzoleni was a four-year letter winning goaltender at Michigan State from 1977-80.
Mazzoleni is no stranger to the Division III and the NCHA, having coached UW-Stevens Point to three consecutive national titles in 1989, 1990 and 1991. He compiled a 135-52-10 record in six seasons with the Pointers.
Following his time in Stevens Point, he served as an assistant at the University of Minnesota for three seasons before accepting the head coaching position at Miami University. He led the RedHawks to the NCAA tournament in 1997. Following his stint in Oxford, he was head man for Harvard and led the program to three consecutive NCAA births from 2002-04.
All told, he holds a 302-207-43 record as a collegiate head coach and most recently served as head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League.
Green Knights’ head coach Tim Coghlin expects Mazzoleni’s contributions to be invaluable to the program.
“There are very few men with the knowledge he has,†said Coghlin. “He’s been coaching for 30 years and has been very successful everywhere he has been. To bring in someone with the character and experience of him is something that will contribute heavily to our program and to the experiences of the young men on our team.â€
Interestingly, though Mazzoleni is now an assistant under Coghlin, it was Coghlin who was a member of Mazzoleni’s inaugural recruiting class at Stevens Point.
“Over the years we have come to know each other very well, and I think there is a lot of respect there both on a professional and a personal level. We have been in close contact going all the way back to when I played for him,†said Coghlin.
Mazzoleni is initially expected to work primarily with the goaltenders, though that certainly will not be the extent of his contributions.
“To start off he’s going to work with our goaltending situation because that’s where he has the most experience and that’s where he played,†said Coghlin. “That said, he brings so much to the table that there is no question he will certainly help this program in every way imaginable.â€
The Green Knights finished last season 19-8-1 and failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. They open this season on October 27 with a home tilt against Lake Forest.
