With the offseason in full swing for all but the four teams competing in next week’s Frozen Four, attention around the college hockey world turns to who will be the next head coach of the Dutchmen.
Rick Bennett, who was the head coach for Union’s only national championship team in 2014, resigned on January 31 following an internal investigation at the school into his conduct with players. Bennett, a Providence alum from Springfield, Mass., had helped Nate Leaman build the program as an associate coach and then took over when the latter went to Providence to become the bench boss of the Friars.
With only 59 teams in NCAA Division 1 hockey, any job opening is significant. There aren’t many opportunities for assistant coaches to move up. The job vacancy in Schenectady comes at a good time for the school as it was recently announced Union would be able to offer athletic scholarships in hockey. The facility and the administration’s lack of support for hockey are concerns, but interest will be high, given that this is a program with a national title and alumni in the NHL in its pedigree.
