Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold has hired Mike Corbett to be the new assistant coach on the Bobcats’ staff.
Corbett comes to Hamden, Conn., after spending one season as an assistant coach at Robert Morris, a program that was abruptly ended by its administration this offseason. Prior to that, he was head coach of Alabama Huntsville for seven seasons. He went 48-181-24 during his time in Huntsville.
His first foray into college coaching came as an assistant coach for 10 seasons at Air Force. The 1997 Denver graduate played four seasons for the Pioneers, including serving as alternate captain as a junior and senior.
Corbett, from Green Bay, Wis., had been rumored to be one of the top three candidates to replace Bill Riga, who left Quinnipiac to become head coach at Holy Cross. The other known candidates for the job were Western Michigan associate head coach Pat Ferschweiler and UMass assistant coach Matt Lindsay, who was at Penn State when being considered.
Corbett is a good hire for Pecknold, as he brings experience as a head coach and assistant. His vast experience will help him in maintaining Quinnipiac’s track record of finding recruits who are off the beaten path. Corbett joins associate head coach Joe Dumais on the Quinnipiac staff.
UMass Lowell makes its move
According to multiple sources, UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin is prepared to hire Taylor Nelson as the new second assistant coach of the River Hawks.
Nelson, a former collegiate goaltender, fills the void in terms of having someone at that position on staff. He replaces Juliano Pagliero, who left UML to take a similar post at Penn State. Nelson’s collegiate coaching experience is having four seasons under his belt at Canisius as an assistant coach to Trevor Large. He also spent a year as a graduate assistant coach at Ferris State, his alma mater.
Nelson, from Regina, Saskatchewan, spent two seasons in the USHL on the Tri-City Storm staff. Having played junior hockey in the SJHL, he should be able to help Lowell recruit well in western Canada as well as in the USHL.
Paul Pearl to Cushing Penguins
After leaving his post as associate head coach at Boston University recently, Paul Pearl has landed on his feet. The Winthrop, Mass., native will be the new head coach at Cushing Academy.
He replaces longtime bench boss Steve Jacobs, who will now serve in more of an administration role within the hockey program at the Ashburnham, Mass., prep school. Between his two stints as head coach at Cushing, Jacobs developed quite a few stellar college and pro players while winning a lot of hockey games.
Pearl, a Holy Cross graduate, spent 19 seasons as head coach at his alma mater. He went 297-293-69 during that time with the Crusaders. Since then, he’s been on the staff as an associate head coach at BU and Harvard.
Pearl was rumored to be a top candidate to become an assistant coach on Jerry Keefe’s staff at Northeastern. With Pearl off the table, there are a few possibilities that seem to make make sense for the Huskies.
Brown assistant coach Jason Guerriero played college hockey at Northeastern and lives in the Boston area. He was captain of the Huskies in 2004-05, potting 17 goals and adding 31 assists for 48 points in 38 games. He’s been an assistant at Yale, in addition to his time at Brown under Brendan Whittet.
The other Brown assistant, Jason Smith, was a former assistant at Northeastern under Jim Madigan. The Salem State grad previously was an assistant coach at Holy Cross, Babson and his alma mater.
Northeastern’s director of hockey operations Matt Harlow (Bridgewater, Mass.) is another possibility. He’s young but has a wide array of experience that includes one season as an amateur scout with the New York Islanders. He played at Brown when Keefe was an assistant there.
The big name that is being thrown about is Boston College alum and former Eagles associate head coach Greg Brown. He spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New York Rangersbut was let go when the organization cleaned house. Brown would be a home-run hire, as his expertise with defensemen is well-known.
