Alaska Anchorage announced Saturday that Chris Cosentino, Steve Murphy and Matthew Shasby have been chosen as finalists for the head coach position for the Seawolves hockey program.
Former UAA coach Matt Curley resigned in June after leading the Seawolves to seven wins in two seasons.
Cosentino is a two-time ACHA Coach of the Year after leading New York University to two ACHA national championships. During his 10 years as head coach, he earned the NYU President’s Service Award five times and was a two-time ACHA Community Service Award winner. NYU led the league in all-academic honorees for seven straight years and posted a cumulative GPA of 3.4.
Consentino led an on-ice training camp for the New York Rangers at the conclusion of the NHL lockout in 2013. He served as head coach and general manager of the New York Apple Core junior team for two seasons and was the head coach and assistant general manager of the New York Apple Core Junior B team for five seasons. He played collegiate hockey at Iona and Geneseo and earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Hofstra in 2008.
Murphy is currently the head coach at Buffalo State where he has posted a 73-47-12 record in five seasons and has been nationally ranked in the top 15 three of the last five seasons. He oversees his student-athletes academic progress that has resulted in 85 percent of his players earning a 3.0 or higher GPA.
Prior to taking over as head coach for the Bengals, he served as an assistant coach for one season. Murphy was an assistant coach for the NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears for one season and served as head referee in the NAHL for one season. He played NCAA Division III hockey at Curry and Saint Mary’s and earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Saint Mary’s.
Shasby is currently the vice president of player development for the state of Alaska and serves as a coach with the Anchorage Hockey Association. He has coached numerous age groups in addition to high school teams during his career.
A UAA alum who played in 127 games during his four-year career for the Seawolves, Shasby was an All-WCHA Second Team defenseman and was named to the All-WCHA Academic Team three times.
Shasby went on to play professional hockey, appearing in 375 games, primarily with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. He has served as a volunteer with USA Hockey at numerous camps and coaching education programs. Shasby earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Alaska Anchorage in 2008 and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Phoenix.
He currently teaches seventh and eighth grade social studies at Northern Lights ABC.
Each candidate will participate in an open forum this coming week:
Matthew Shasby – Wednesday, September 29, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Steve Murphy – Thursday, September 30, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Chris Cosentino – Friday, October 1, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
