2025 NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

There are a number of new assistant coaches in new places for the upcoming 2025-26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey campaign, with transactions having taken place since the Frozen Four in St. Louis in April:

Coach (Alma Mater) New School         Last Team

Chris Brown (Wisc. River Falls) Cornell            Alaska

Cam Clarke (Ferris State) Cornell            Norwich 

Matt Curley (Clarkson) Alaska             Des Moines (USHL)

Rick Bennett (Providence) Maine              Quinnipiac

Shane Madolora (RIT) RIT                Vermont 

Andrew Magera (Penn State) Lindenwood         Bemidji State 

Josh Mitchell (RIT) RIT                Waterloo (USHL)

Jordy Murray (Wisconsin) Colorado College   Michigan Tech

Andrew Ogilvie (Notre Dame) Notre Dame         Colorado College 

Paul Pooley (Ohio State) Colorado College   Notre Dame

L.J. Scarpace (Michigan) Michigan Tech      Detroit(NHL)

Marco Treviño     Robert Morris      Tri-City (USHL)

Coaches listed by last name, not date of hire. Moves made at same school not included.

Also, Lindenwood hired Keith Fisher, former longtime Penn State assistant coach, as its new head coach.

Wisconsin's Thomas Passes at 77

Former NCAA and NHL netminder Wayne Thomas (Wisconsin) passed away earlier this week at the age of 77. The Ottawa native was the first University of Wisconsin player to skate in the National Hockey League, and the first former Badger to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Thomas backstopped the Badgers for two seasons, compiling a 23-13-1 record with a 2.84 goals-against average and three shutouts over 38 games from 1968 to 1970. He also helped Wisconsin to the 1970 NCAA semifinals, where it finished in third place, while personally earning WCHA Second Team All-Star status that season. 

Undrafted, Thomas went on to play in 243 career NHL regular-season games with Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers, fashioning a 103-93-34 record with a 3.34 GAA and 10 shutouts. He also appeared in 85 career regular-season outings in the American Hockey League, winning a Calder Cup championship with Nova Scotia in 1972, before winning the Stanley Cup the following year with Montreal. 

Thomas, who retired as an active player following the 1980-81 NHL season, went on to work one year as a goalie coach and then three years as an assistant coach with the Rangers. He then served two seasons as head coach of the International Hockey League's Salt Lake Golden Eagles, leading them to the 1987 Turner Cup title while also earning IHL Coach of the Year accolades that season. After one year as an assistant with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, he spent two years as head coach of Peoria (IHL) before serving the next six seasons as an NHL assistant, three with the St. Louis Blues and three with the San Jose Sharks.

Thomas moved into the front office with the San Jose organization in 1995-96, where he remained until his retirement in 2014-15. In that span he served as assistant general manager and vice-president of hockey operations with the Sharks, and as GM in the AHL with Kentucky, Cleveland and Worcester.

Michigan State's Howard Jumps to NHL

Reigning Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Isaac Howard won't be returning to Michigan State University for his final collegiate season. 

Howard, 21, who led the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles the last two years, has signed with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers after his rights were traded to the two-time Western Conference champions by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had drafted him 31st overall in 2022.

A native of Hudson, Wisc., Howard led MSU in scoring as a junior last season with 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points in 37 games, and then claimed the Hobey Baker Award. A 5-foot-11, 190-pound left wing, he had earlier been named as the 2024-25 Big Ten Player of the Year, and went on to help Team USA to its first gold medal at the IIHF Men's World Championship since 1933. 

A product of the U.S. National Development Team Program, Howard collected 34-54—88 points in 73 career games over two years with MSU, helping the Green and White to two NCAA tournaments, after transferring from Minnesota-Duluth. He is the third Spartan to ever win the Hobey Baker Award, following center Kip Miller (1990) and goaltender Ryan Miller (2001).

CHL's McKenna to Play at Penn State

The best player in the Canadian Hockey League will be playing in the NCAA this upcoming season.

Gavin McKenna, who led the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Western Hockey league playoff title and an appearance in the 2025 Memorial Cup final, will skate at Penn State University for the 2025-26 campaign. The six-foot center from Whitehorse, Yukon tallied 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in just 56 games this past season, and was named the CHL Player of the Year. In three years with the Tigers, he posted 79-165—244 points in 133 career WHL regular-season outings, plus 12-33—45 points in 25 postseason appearances. He also helped Team Canada to gold medals at both the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

McKenna, 17, who is projected to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, is the highest-profile signing to date since the NCAA allowed CHL/major junior players to be eligible to play American college hockey late last year. 

Penn State, which finished 22-14-4 overall last season (9-11-4 Big Ten Conference), is also coming off the first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in the school's varsity history.