Nate Leaman
Head coach | Providence College
In 2015, Leaman took Providence College to new heights, winning the school’s first national title. In that resurgence, Leaman became the fastest Friars head coach to reach 100 career wins. When there’s a head coaching vacancy at the NHL level, Leaman’s name is often floated around, and that’s a testament to his reputation.
Mark Dennehy
Head coach | Merrimack College
What’s most impressive about Dennehy (Dorchester, Mass.) is that he does so much with so little, as Merrimack struggles to recruit the same profile of player as its Hockey East foes. Still, under his guidance, Lawler Rink has truly become a vaunted spot for away teams. Often the underdog, Merrimack has proven that the region’s top programs extend into the Merrimack Valley.
David Quinn
Head coach | Boston University
Is Boston University’s head coach the John Calipari of college hockey? That’s, of course, a reference to Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach who shares a penchant for recruiting elite young talent. Plus, Quinn, a native of Cranston, R.I., took over for the legendary Jack Parker, an impressive distinction irrespective of his track record. Quinn guided the Terriers to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2015 and the NCAA West Region finals last season.
Albie O'Connell
Associate head coach | BU
O’Connell (Watertown, Mass.) often hits the recruiting road for Boston University, landing many of the program’s high-profile recruits. In other words, David Quinn may get the credit, but BU’s NHL draft picks are typically first courted by O’Connell. His mark is also felt at Holy Cross, Merrimack, Northeastern and Harvard, all assistant coaching stops before becoming an associate head coach for the Terriers.
Jerry York
Head coach | Boston College
Ask anyone who the par excellence of college hockey coaching is, and odds are they’ll say York. Kids grow up dreaming of playing at Conte Forum, and it’s easy to understand why considering York (Watertown, Mass.) has reached the 1,000-win mark while at Boston College —the first coach in college hockey to do so. During that span, he’s led the Eagles to four NCAA titles, nine Hockey East tournament titles and six Hockey East regular-season championships.
Ted Donato
Head coach | Harvard University
If there’s one coach on this list who’s Boston through and through, it’s Donato (Dedham, Mass.). He played at Catholic Memorial, then at Harvard and extensively with the Bruins. After hanging up his skates, Donato stepped into the head man’s job with the Crimson, bringing them to another level. Most notably, he led them to a Frozen Four run in 2016-17 and has transformed the program into an elite ECAC team.
Mike McShane
Head coach | Norwich University
Only six men have won more games as a college hockey coach than Mike McShane (Wakefield, Mass.), who for the past 22 seasons has presided over a Division 3 powerhouse at Norwich (Vt.) University.
The reigning Division 3 champions, the Cadets have won the title in the New England Hockey Conference in 18 of the past 19 years, making the NCAA tournament 16 times in that span, reaching 12 Frozen Fours and claiming four national championships.
McShane, who skated at New Hampshire, graduating in 1971 as that program’s third all-time leading scorer, began his coaching career at New Hampton Prep, and later served stints as the head coach at St. Lawrence and Providence before getting hired at Norwich prior to the 1995-96 season.
At Providence, he coached future NHL players like Chris Terreri, Tom Fitzgerald, Rob Gaudreau, Craig Darby, Chris Therien, Joe Hulbig and Hal Gill.
At Norwich, he coached future NHL player Keith Aucoin (Chelmsford, Mass.) and a collection of talented players who made the Cadets annually one of the teams to beat in Division 3. National titles were claimed in 2000, ’03, ’10 and ’17.
The team’s home rink, Kreitzberg Arena, is annually one of the liveliest in Division 3. Last year, Norwich ranked third nationally in average attendance with 1,629 per game.
Five times McShane has been honored with the Ed Jeremiah Division 2/3 National Coach of the Year Award, the most recent coming in 2017. At Norwich, he has posted a 478-123-36 record.
He became just the seventh coach in NCAA history to win 700 games with a 4-0 win over Castleton on Nov. 18, 2016. Among active coaches, only Jerry York of Boston College (1,033) has won more games than his 722.
— MIKE ZHE
Keith Allain
Head coach | Yale University
Head coach at Yale since 2006, Allain guided the 15th-seeded Bulldogs to the 2013 national title, handing out upsets left and right and breaking a long ECAC drought on the national stage. He also heavily recruits from New England and has prominently shaped Team USA throughout the years. The Worcester, Mass., native will serve as an assistant at the 2018 Winter Olympics, with previous work at the World Cup of Hockey and world juniors.
Dick Umile
Head coach | Univ. New Hampshire
A Melrose, Mass., native, Umile is the winningest coach in UNH hockey history, with 586 wins as he enters 2017-18, his final season behind the bench. Bay Stater Mike Souza, the associate head coach, is set the take over the program next season. Umile has 22 winning seasons in his 24 years at UNH and has guided the Wildcats to four Frozen Fours and 18 NCAA tourney appearances. He won the Spencer Penrose Award in 1999 as the nation’s top Div. 1 coach.
Rand Pecknold
Head coach | Quinnipiac University
For the last decade and a half, this Bedford, N.H., native has led one of New England’s top collegiate programs in Quinnipiac. The Bobcats, competing in the ECAC and Atlantic conferences during his tenure, have made the NCAA tournament five times, twice advancing to the Frozen Four. Pecknold is also pushing 500 career wins.
Paul Pearl
Associate head coach | Harvard
Harvard has been among the nation’s best teams since 2014, when Pearl (Winthrop, Mass.) joined Ted Donato’s staff as associate head coach. After a 19-year career as Holy Cross’ coach and two NCAA tourney appearances — including a monumental upset of Minnesota in 2006 — Pearl helped guide the Crimson to a Beanpot title, ECAC championship and Frozen Four berth in 2017. He also is the Mass. Hockey boys development coordinator.
Norm Bazin
Head coach | UMass-Lowell
Older players, a gritty-meets-skill style and the home-ice advantage of the Tsongas Center are a just a few reasons fans dislike UMass-Lowell. But there’s no denying it: Throughout Bazin’s tenure, the River Hawks have been among the nation’s best programs. Since taking the job ahead of the 2012-13 season, they’ve won three Hockey East tournaments and made four NCAA tournaments.
