Merrimack College announced Sunday that it was terminating the contract of head coach Mark Dennehy. The decision ended a 13-year run for Dennehy as the leader of the Warriors’ hockey program.
Dennehy accomplished a great deal at Merrimack and salvaged the program from some of its darkest days. The highlight of Dennehy’s tenure included a 2011 trip to the NCAA Tournament and a runner-up finish in the Hockey East Tournament.
In addition to Dennehy, associate head coach Bill Gilligan was let go. Associate head coach Curtis Carr will remain on staff to run the day-to-day operations of the program in the interim.
Now the attention of Athletic Director Jeremy Gibson turns to hiring a replacement. There are only 60 Division I openings so there will be plenty of interest.
Northeastern associate head coach Jerry Keefe, a native of nearby Billerica, Mass., should be the front-runner. The former standout at Providence has been on Jim Madigan’s staff since the 2011-12 season. Keefe is arguably one of the top recruiters in college hockey and is a tireless worker. He’s been given a lot of the on-ice responsibilities as well. With Keefe on staff, Northeastern has won its first Beanpot and first Hockey East Tournament championship since 1988 over the past three seasons. Keefe is well regarded and has been a finalist or offered several other jobs in the past few years.
The second most viable option is Boston University associate head coach Albie O’Connell, who served as an assistant at Merrimack during the 2007-08 season. He’s also been an assistant at Colby, Niagara, Holy Cross, Northeastern and Harvard. A native of Watertown, Mass., O’Connell was a very good player in his own right for the Terriers, serving as captain as a senior.
Merrimack could look to replace one BC alum with another Eagle in Greg Brown. Currently the associate head coach under Jerry York, Brown is widely regarded as one of the best hockey minds in the business. Brown is another Massachusetts native who played prep hockey at St. Mark’s before matriculating to BC and enjoying a pro career that included stints in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Another strong candidate would be Harvard associate head coach Paul Pearl, a former head coach and player at Holy Cross. Pearl was considered for the Merrimack job previously. His profile has risen in recent years due to the Crimson’s run to the Froze Four last year as well as several high profile wins on the recruiting trail.
A dark horse for the job would be Union head coach Rick Bennett, a native of Springfield, Mass., who played college hockey at Providence. Bennett was the head coach of the Dutchmen when the program won its first and only national championship in 2014. He was an assistant under current Providence coach Nate Leaman during his time in Schenectady. Bennett helped recruit most of that 2014 team and is one of the best developers of talent in the college game. Bennett could be convinced to leave Union for more money at Merrimack. He’d be a home run if the Merrimack administration could pull him towards North Andover.
The only Merrimack alum who is a serious candidate is former standout goaltender and captain Joe Exter, now an assistant coach at Michigan State. Exter is in his first season with the Spartans after serving on the staff at Ohio State. He also has experience with USA Hockey’s NTDP.
Former Merrimack assistant and current Minnesota Wild scout Darren Yopyk, former assistant and current UNH associate head coach Glenn Stewart, UMass associate head coach Ben Barr, Quinnipiac associate head coach Joe Dumais, Providence assistant Kris Mayotte, and UMass Lowell assistant Cam Ellsworth are other names to be considered.
