While there hasn’t been much movement on the college coaching front in the Northeast, the final two head coaching vacancies in the USPHL NCDC have been filled over the past few days.
Former Providence College star Drew Omicioli was named the new head coach and general manager of the South Shore Kings. The West Warwick, R.I., native played for the Friars from 1998 to 2002, amassing 45 goals and 52 assists in 135 career games.
Omicioli, 39, returns to the New England area after playing and coaching minor pro hockey in Italy. He was most recently the head coach of Milano Rossoblu in the Alps Hockey League.
Omicioli replaces John Gurskis, who had led the organization’s NCDC team for the past three seasons after taking over for Scott Harlow.
Jim Gaudet will take over as the head coach of the Boston Bandits’ entry in the USPHL NCDC. From Etna, N.H., Gaudet played college hockey for Dartmouth from 2008-2012. His father, Bob Gaudet, is the longtime head coach of the Big Green.
Gaudet replaces Rich Alger, who coached the Bandits this past season. Gaudet will be the third coach in four years for the Bandits.
“Jim is a rising star in the coaching ranks,” said Bandits Senior Advisor Doug Shepherd, also an agent with ASM Hockey, in a press release put out by the league.
Nothing brewing at St. Lawrence
Things remain quiet on the search for a new head coach at St. Lawrence. The job was offered to American International head coach Eric Lang, who was given a deadline of today, Friday, April 26, to make a decision.
Lang, who guided the Yellow Jackets to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament this past March, has made two visits to the Canton, N.Y., campus. If there’s no news out of St. Lawrence today, it’s likely Lang has turned down the job.
If Lang in fact does turn it down, one would think the first phone call the St. Lawrence search committee makes is to Providence associate head coach Kris Mayotte, who was the top candidate for the job in the minds of many, including this writer.
Trinity College head coach Matt Greason and several associate head coaches in ECAC Hockey, Cornell’s Ben Syer, Union’s Jason Tapp, or Quinnipiac’s Bill Riga or Joe Dumais, would also make good coaches if given the opportunity.
USHL hands out awards
UMass commit and Selects Academy at South Kent alum Zac Jones was named the USHL Rookie of the Year. The late ’00 left-shot defenseman has registered seven goals 49 assists in 59 games for the Tri-City Storm.
In addition to USHL Rookie of the Year honors, Jones was also named to the All-USHL Second Team and the USHL All-Rookie Team. From Glen Allen, Va., Jones is the 70th ranked North American Skater in the final list put out by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Tri-City squares off against the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL Clark Cup Playoffs Western Conference finals that begin this weekend.
Meriden, Conn., native Ryan Hardy was named the USHL General Manager of the Year, it was announced Wednesday. The former Boston Bruins amateur scout and Sacred Heart assistant coach is in his first season as GM of the Chicago Steel.
The Steel finished 37-21-4 in the regular season, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Chicago has advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and will face the Muskegon Lumberjacks, the top seed in the conference.
In addition to Hardy, two Steel players who are committed to New England colleges were honored by the league. Harvard commit Nick Abruzzese was named to the All-USHL First Team and Boston University recruit Robert Mastrosimone earned All-USHL Third Team honors.
UMass Lowell commit Matt Brown was named to the All-USHL Second Team. The left wing scored 34 goals and 29 assists in 62 games for the Des Moines Buccaneers.
Sioux Falls Stampede defenseman Max Crozier, a Providence commit, was named to the All-USHL Third Team. The Calgary, Alberta, native has 12 goals and 38 assists in 66 games this season. Seven of those points have come in six playoff games.
Another Selects Academy at South Kent product and Tri-City teammate, Shane Pinto, joined Jones on the USHL All-Rookie First Team. The New York, N.Y., native is committed to North Dakota. Pinto has 31 goals and 36 assists and counting in 59 games so far this season.
UConn commit Vladislav Firstov of the Waterloo Black Hawks also made the USHL All-Rookie First Team after scoring 26 goals and 34 assists in 66 games.
Merrimack commit Liam Walsh of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders was named the recipient of the Curt Hammer Award, given annually to a player who “distinguishes himself both on and off the ice by demonstrating outstanding performance skills, leadership, pride, and determination,” the league’s press release stated.
Northeastern commit Ty Jackson of the Dubuque Fighting Saints was named to the USHL All-Academic Team.
