NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

The offseason NCAA men's ice hockey coaching carousel was in full swing over the past two weeks.

Foremost among all the moves made was the firing of Todd Woodcroft by Vermont, after a months-long investigation by UVM administrators concerning "inappropriate text messages" with a student at the university. Woodcroft, who registered an overall record of 20-55-9 at the helm of the Catamounts over the last four years, has been replaced by assistant coach Stephen Wiedler for the 2023-24 season. Wiedler played collegiately at Southern Maine, and was an assistant at Curry College and AIC before becoming an assistant in Vermont in 2020.

The rest of the recent coaching movements came in the assistant ranks, as also reported at USCHO.com. Alaska (Fairbanks) brought aboard former NAHL/NA3HL head coach Casey Mignone, who played collegiately at both Lebanon Valley and Westfield State. Michigan hired Mathew Deschamps (Maine) and Kevin Reiter (Alaska Anchorage) as assistant coaches, and also promoted Rob Rassey (Northeastern) to associate head coach. Colgate added Zach Badalamenti (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), while Brock Kautz (Minnesota) has joined Bemidji State.

Lastly, Arizona State associate head coach Mike Field (AIC), who has spent the last eight seasons with the Sun Devils since they joined the NCAA Division I ranks, has jumped to the major junior hockey ranks as an assistant with Everett (WHL).  Field, who has also coached at his alma mater and at Dubuque (USHL), helped ASU to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 as an independent.

It's U-M vs. UMD on Saturday

It'll be Wolverines against Bulldogs on Saturday night in St. Paul for it all. And really, who out there had that final pairing picked when the brackets were announced on March 20? Yet here we are.

Minnesota-Duluth again used a trio of power-play goals to record its latest victory, and held on to beat Notre Dame, 4-3, behind Kenny Reiter's 31 saves in the first semifinal played Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center. In the nightcap, Shawn Hunwick made 40 stops and allowed a first-period tally by Ben Winnett to hold up as Michigan blanked No. 2 North Dakota, the school favored by many to win this year's national championship, by a 2-0 count.

Michigan will be looking for its 10th national title and first since 1998, along with its fourth straight win over a WCHA team, when the puck drops tomorrow night. UMD will be seeking its first-ever NCAA crown in its first Frozen Four since 2004, and its first national final appearance in 27 seasons.

It's been quite a ride so far this spring in the NCAA Division I tournament - some expected outcomes, several exciting finishes, and even a few surprising upsets. All the final answers will be revealed on Saturday when the 2010-11 college hockey campaign concludes.